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SOLAR IS DRIVING A GLOBAL SHIFT IN
ELECTRICITY MARKETS Rapid Cost Deflation and Broad Gains in Scale
May 2018 Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies,
Australasia ([email protected]) and
Kashish Shah, Research Associate
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 1
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... 2
1. World’s Largest Operational Utility-Scale Solar Projects ........................................... 4
1.1 World’s Largest Utility-Scale Solar Projects Under Construction ............................ 8
1.2 India’s Largest Utility-Scale Solar Projects Under Development .......................... 13
2. World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Projects ............................................... 18
3. Floating Solar Projects ................................................................................................ 23
4. Rooftop Solar Projects ................................................................................................ 27
5. Solar PV With Storage ................................................................................................. 31
6. Corporate PPAs .......................................................................................................... 39
7. Top Renewable Energy Utilities ................................................................................. 44
8. Top Solar Module Manufacturers .............................................................................. 49
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 50
Appendix: Videoclips of Solar ...................................................................................... 51
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis .............................................. 52
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 2
Executive Summary
Solar energy is taking an increasingly prominent role in driving the ongoing transformation
of global electricity generation markets alongside gains in storage, wind, hydroelectricity
and energy efficiency.
The speed of this transformation is hard to grasp, particularly in the crucial China and
India markets, but the results of 2017 are a good indicator of the trend.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reports that 98 gigawatts (GW) of solar was
installed globally in 2017, a 31% increase from the prior year.1 Meanwhile - and just as
important - the levelized cost of solar dropped 15% year-on-year to US$86/MWh for
capacity installed in 2017.
Leading the charge, China accounted for more than half the newly installed solar
capacity, or some 53 GW, a figure that as recently as 2014 would have eclipsed the
global total of solar installations.
While India’s current installation numbers aren’t as dramatic as China’s, India is clearly
embarking on a massive transformation of its electricity sector as well. The country’s 2018
National Electricity Plan, released in March, affirms national intentions to increase
renewable energy capacity to 275 GW by 2027, with solar representing two-thirds of this
total. As renewables rise in India, thermal power capacity is forecast to decline to just 43%
of the nation’s total in 2027, down from 66% today.
China and India are hardly alone on this front, as scores of other countries embrace solar.
Saudi Arabia, for one, announced in March 2018 a plan to build 200 GW of solar capacity
by 2030, yet another marker in the transition under way across global energy markets. The
uptake of solar is gathering momentum too in Europe and the Americas.
The International Renewable Energy Agency published a report in January 2018 that
concluded the following:
“Falling renewable power costs signal a real paradigm shift in the competitiveness
of different power generation options. Continuous technology innovation remains
a constant in the renewable power generation market.”2
The solar-sector details in the pages that follow illustrate this shift. Global energy markets
are changing, and fast. Last year saw a number of new solar milestones set:
Record low utility solar tariffs, with deflation over the last two years hitting 50% in a
number of markets ranging from Chile and Mexico to India and Saudi Arabia.
A 1,547 MW project at Tengger, China, set a record for the being largest operational
solar project globally.
India’s push for development of “Industrial Solar Parks” has driven construction on a
number of the world’s largest utility scale solar projects, including the nearly complete
2,225 MW Bhadla solar industrial park in Rajasthan, and with the State of Gujarat
looking to beat that with an April 2018 announcement to build a 5,000 MW project.
A new world record for the largest floating solar installation, 150 MW in China.
A step-change in the commercially deployed cost of concentrated solar power (CSP).
Commissioning of the world’s largest rooftop solar unit, of 19 MW in Punjab, India.
1 http://fs-unep-centre.org/sites/default/files/publications/gtr2018v2.pdf 2 http://irena.org/publications/2018/Jan/Renewable-power-generation-costs-in-2017
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 3
A record high number of corporate power purchase agreements (PPA) of which an
increasing number are incorporating solar.
BNEF reports that total new global solar installations reached 98 GW in 2017, a growth of
31% year-on-year. China surprised all energy expectations by installing a record 53 GW in
2017, 55% of the global total.
Cost deflation for PV solar and wind has been so extensive that it has created the risk that
other renewable energy technologies, such as offshore wind and concentrated solar
power (CSP), have already lost the race. However, gains in innovation and cost
reductions are being increasingly being seen across a broad range of technologies.
As countries grapple with ever-higher shares of variable renewable energy generation,
demand for system balancing will require a multitude of technology solutions including
improved international grid connectivity, better demand response management, more
pumped hydro storage, and appropriate system pricing signals to incentivise grid stability
and peaking power supply. In this context, concentrating-solar technology and solar with
storage have become increasingly valuable, cost-effective system tools.
What follows is an overview of solar expansion, illustrated through almost 100 examples of
projects that are operational, under construction or in development.
Note: While this report describes many of the world’s largest solar projects, it is not
intended as a comprehensive review, in part because of limited access to verifiable
information on Chinese companies, for instance. Nor does this report capture the full
scope of the trend towards solar. It is meant, rather, as a snapshot in time of fast-moving
technology and up-scaling, and illustrates the expanding geographic uptake of large
scale solar investments. The authors invite email feedback that elaborates on special
projects and that can help inform updates to this report.
Figure 1.1: Global Solar Price Deflation: New Record Lows Keep Being Set
Source: Press Articles, IEEFA estimates
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 4
1. World’s Largest Operational Utility-Scale Solar Projects
A key rationale for this report is the rapid up-scaling of solar investment globally that is
accelerating solar cost deflation beyond what any thought possible just two years ago.
India is one of the best examples of huge gains that have taken place in the last four
years, and the importance of political leadership in framing long term energy policy.
Following his election in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a renewable
energy transformation of the country’s electricity sector. By September of 2016, India had
commissioned what was then the world’s largest solar project, a 648 MW facility in
Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu. China topped this record in 2017, opening the 1,000 MW Datang
and the 1,547 MW Tengger solar projects.
By early 2019, India is expected to complete work on a 2,225 MW facility at Bhadla in
Rajasthan (about a third of this plant is already operational), a project that will let India
regain the title of having the world’s largest solar installation.
More is on the way: In April 2018, Vijay Rupani, chief minister of Gujarat State, announced
plans for a 5,000-MW solar park covering 11,000 hectares along the Gulf of Khambhat.3
Figure 1.1 below lists 14 of the largest solar projects globally that are commercially
operational, with a focus on geographic diversity rather than highlighting just the largest
projects overall, hence we have missed some Chinese and U.S. projects. Projects in India
are featured in Section 1.2, while the other projects named here are described below.
Figure 1.2: Fourteen of the World’s Largest Operating Utility-Scale Solar Projects
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
3 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/indias-gujarat-approves-5gw-solar-park
No Project NameSize
(MW)Country Proponent
1 Tengger Desert Solar Park 1,547 China China National Grid Zhongwei Power Supply Co.
2 Kurnool Ult ra Mega Solar Park 1,000 India Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Pvt Ltd
3 Datong Solar Power Top Runner Base 1,000 China Mult iple
4 Yanchi Ningxia Solar Park 1,000 China Huawei Technologies Co
5 Longyangxia Dam Solar Park 850 China State Power Investment Corporation (China)
6 Adani Kamuthi Solar Plant 648 India Adani Green
7 Solar Star 579 USA BHE Renewables
8 Topaz Solar Farm 550 USA First Solar
9 Desert Sunlight Solar Farm 550 USA NextEra Energy, GE Energy Financial & Sumitomo
10 Nova Olinda Solar Farm 292 Brazil Enel Green Power
11 El Romero Solar Plant 246 Chile Acciona Energy
12 De Aar Solar Farm 175 South Africa Solar Capital
13 Solarpark Meuro 166 Germany GP Joule
14 EA Solar Lampang 128 Thailand Energy Absolute Public Company Ltd
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 5
Tengger Desert Solar Park, 1,547 MW, China
This 1,547 MW solar project near Zhongwei City, Ningxia, is located on the southern edge
of the Tengger Desert. It was developed by China National Grid Zhongwei Power Supply
Company starting in 2012 as an industrial park involving a reported 45 grid-connected
projects commissioned progressively over 2011-2017.4 BNEF reports that owners and
developers include Tianyun New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Jingyuntong
Technology Co. Ltd., Ningxia Qingyang New Energy Co. Ltd., Qinghai New Energy Co.
Ltd. and Zhongwei Yinyang New Energy Co. Ltd.
Datong Solar Power Top Runner Base, 1,070 MW, China
The Datong Top Runner facility is in Datong City, in Shanxi province. Project developers
and owners include Datong United Photovoltaics New Energy Co. Ltd., Datong Coal Mine
Group Co. Ltd., Huadian Shanxi Energy Co. Ltd., JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd., China
Guangdong Nuclear Solar Energy Co. Ltd., China Three Gorges New Energy Corp. and
State Power Investment Corp Ltd. BNEF estimates total capacity operational in 2016
reached 1,070 MW, with a further 600 MW announced.
Yanchi, Ningxia Solar Park, 1,000 MW, China
This 1,000 MW solar park was the largest PV facility In the world when it was commissioned
in September 2016, overtaking India’s 648 MW solar project in Tamil Nadu.5 The plant is
owned by Huawei Technologies Co., China’s largest mobile-phone manufacturer. Central
management is via Huawei’s Fusion Solar’s “smart O&M cloud centre,” which operates
centrally to handle all plants for the group.
Longyangxia Dam Solar Park, 850 MW, China
The 850 MW Longyangxia facility is reported to cover 27 square km on the Tibetan plateau
of China’s Qinghai province.67 Construction started in 2013 and the project is reported to
have cost US$890m.8 The project, developed by provincially owned Huanghe
Hydropower Development, is integrated with the 1,280 MW hydroelectric power station
on the Longyangxia Dam.9
Solar Star, 579 MW, U.S.
The 579 MW Solar Star project in the Antelope Valley was developed by SunPower on
behalf of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings.10 Commissioned in
June 2015, Solar Star took three years to build.11 At that time, it was the largest operating
solar project in the world. The project uses 1.7 million SunPower monocrystalline silicon
modules on single-axis trackers spread over 3,200 acres12 and is supported by a power
purchase agreement (PPA) from Southern California Edison. Solar Star produced an
4 http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-310093.html (translated from Chinese) 5 http://www.modernpowersystems.com/features/feature1-gw-pv-array-the-worlds-largest-comes-on-line-5664138/ 6 https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=89668 7 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/19/china-builds-worlds-biggest-solar-farm-in-journey-to-become-
green-superpower 8 https://www.alternative-energies.net/longyangxia-dam-solar-park-in-china-is-now-the-biggest-solar-farm-in-the-world/ 9 https://web.archive.org/web/20160417014109/http://www.hydropower.org/blog/case-study-solar-pv–hydro-hybrid-
system-at-longyangxia-china 10 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-utilities-midamerican-solar/midamericans-giant-california-solar-star-power-plant-
enters-service-idUSBREA090NV20140110?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews 11 https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/solar-star-largest-pv-power-plant-in-the-world-now-
operational#gs.9KvSxYw 12 https://us.sunpower.com/sites/sunpower/files/media-library/fact-sheets/fs-solar-star-projects-factsheet.pdf
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 6
average 1,534 GWh of electricity annually in 2015 and 2016, giving it a strong 30.2%
capacity utilization rate, reflective of the very high solar radiation in Southern California.
Topaz Solar Farm, 550 MW, U.S.
The US$2.5bn, 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm in San Luis Obispo County, California, developed
by First Solar uses thin-film solar modules. Topaz was bought by MidAmerican Energy in
2011 and entered commercial service in November 2014. The project has a 25-year PPA
with Pacific Gas & Electric, which the utility signed to help it comply with the state’s 2020
renewable energy mandate of 33%. The project also benefitted from the U.S.
government’s 30% investment tax credit (ITC) subsidy.13 Topaz produced an average 1,268
GWh of electricity annually from 2015 to 2017, resulting in a strong 26.3% capacity
utilisation rate, well ahead of the expected 23%. The site covers 25 square km.
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm, 550 MW, U.S.
The 550 MW Desert Sunlight facility in California’s Mojave Desert was built and managed
by First Solar on behalf of project owners NextEra Energy, GE Energy Financial Services
and the Sumitomo Group. Desert Sunlight was commissioned in February 2015. Like Topaz,
the project tapped into the U.S. government’s ITC subsidy. The facility, built on 3,600 acres
of land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM),14 produced an
average 1,318 GWh of electricity annually in 2015 and 2016, yielding a strong 27.4%
capacity utilisation rate.15
Project construction took place in two phases, both of which were supported by PPAs.
Phase I has a capacity of 300 MW, which was sold to Pacific Gas & Electric. Phase II has a
capacity of 250 MW, which was sold to Southern California Edison.
America has other similarly sized projects including Sempra’s 552 MW Copper Mountain
solar project in Nevada, and Sempra’s 400 MW Mesquite solar project in Arizona.16
Nova Olinda Solar Farm, 292 MW, Brazil
The 292 MW Nova Olinda facility, covering 690 ha in the state of Piauí, was commissioned
in September 2017 at a cost of US$300m by Enel Green Power Brasil Participações,17 a
subsidiary of ENEL of Italy, one of the world’s largest renewable energy infrastructure
owners (see Section 7). The Brazilian Chamber of Commercialization of Electric Energy
provided the enabling 20-year PPA for this project as part of the August 2015 Brazilian
electricity auction.
Enel Green Power commissioned a second facility, the 254 MW Ituverava solar plant in the
state of Bahia in 2017. Financing for this $400m facility was provided by Bank of China and
Santander, supported by the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure). To
date, these projects are the largest in South America and together raise Enel’s total
operational renewable energy portfolio across Brazil to 2,276 MW.18
El Romero Solar Plant, 246 MW, Chile
The 246 MW El Romero facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert is owned by Acciona Energy of
Spain. This project was sponsored by the National Energy Commission of Chile with a 15-
13 https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2011/12/billionaire-buffett-bets-on-solar-energy.html 14 http://investor.firstsolar.com/index.php/news-releases/news-release-details/one-worlds-largest-solar-projects-starts-
commercial-operation 15 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Sunlight_Solar_Farm 16 http://www.semprarenewables.com/project/mesquite-solar-3/ 17 https://www.enelgreenpower.com/media/news/d/2017/02/nova-olinda-comes-to-life-first-solar-panel-is-installed 18 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/09/19/enel-brings-online-546-mw-of-solar-projects-in-brazil/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 7
year PPA. It took just 15 months to build and was commissioned in January 2017 at a cost
of US$343m. HEC Global was the general contractor, JA Solar and Hareon supplied the
solar modules and ABB the inverters. For a short time, it was the largest solar project in
South America.19 Its’ expected capacity utilisation rate is 23%.20
De Aar Solar Farm, 175 MW, South Africa
The largest solar PV project to-date in Africa, the US$400m, 175 MW De Aar facility, was
developed by Solar Capital.21
Solarpark Meuro, 166 MW, Germany
The 166 MW Solarpark Meuro in Brandenburg, Germany, was developed by GP Joule
using panels from Canadian Solar of China and some thin film panels from First Solar.
Operational since September 2011, this is one of the largest solar projects in Germany. The
plant was built in just three months on a former lignite mine and covers 200 ha.22
EA Solar Lampang, 128 MW, Thailand
The 128 MW EA Solar project in Lampang, Thailand, was developed by the Thai
renewable energy company Energy Absolute (EA Solar) and was commissioned in
February 2015, making it possibly the largest solar project in operation in South East Asia.23
19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glvcc2jkRac 20 http://www.acciona-energia.com/areas-of-activity/photovoltaic/major-projects/el-romero-solar-pv-plant/ 21 https://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/12/africa/de-aar-solar-south-africa/index.html 22 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=196781&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1613133 23 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/engineering_contract_awarded_for_130mw_solar_plant_in_thailand
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 8
1.1 World’s Largest Utility-Scale Solar Projects Under Construction
This section examines some of the largest utility-scale solar projects currently under
construction (see Figure 1.3). Given the scale, speed and scope of solar deployments in
China, India and the U.S., this list is not exhaustive, particularly for China. The speed of
China’s solar adoption efforts and the language barrier makes it difficult to keep track of
every development, and we have erred here on the side of geographic diversity in our
selection of projects to illustrate how solar-driven transformation is becoming a global
phenomenon. One of China’s largest solar firms is Huawei, which details it’s FusionSolar
cloud management system references managing several solar assets each of world scale
including projects in Shanghai (1.4 GW), Jinan (900 MW), Zhangliagang (830 MW),
Shenzhen (800 MW), Changshu (800 MW) and Beijing (600 MW) that suggest a separate
China review is warranted to fully appreciate the scale of solar under development
there.24
Figure 1.3: Fourteen of the Largest Under-Construction Utility Solar Projects
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
In 2010, Germany and Italy dominated global solar installations, installing 7.5 GW and 4.5
GW, respectively, some 63% of the global total of 19 GW installed that year. Everything
about solar has since become many-times bigger, with 2017 seeing China installing more
than half of the global total of 98 GW. The 53 GW of solar installed by China in 2017 is a
record best by any country. According to the director of the Asia Europe Clean Energy
Advisory Company (AECEA) – Frank Haugwitz – China aims to install 200 GW of solar by
2020 and 1,000 GW by 2030 (2,000 GW by 2050 – refer Figure 1.4). Haugwitz’s May 2018
discussion with Bank of America Merrill Lynch revealed these staggering Chinese
government targets of 80 GW of solar installations between every year from 2020 to 2030.
24 http://solar.huawei.com/na/utilityscale
No Project NameSize
(MW)Country Proponent
1 Bhadla Industrial Solar Park 2,225 IndiaRajasthan Solar Park Development Company ltd,
ESSEL, IL&FS, Adani RE Power Ltd
2 Pavagada Solar Park (Shakt i Sthala) 2,000 India Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation
3 China Minsheng Investment Wuzhong Yanchi PV 2,000 China China Minsheng Investment Group
4 Scatec Solar Benban V PV Plant 1,800 Egypt Scatec Solar ASA
5 Ananthapuramu - I Solar Park 1,500 India Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Pvt Ltd
6 Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park 1,013 UAE DEWA, ACWA Power, TSK, Masdar consort ium, EDF
7 Kadapa Ultra Mega Solar Park, Andhra Pradesh 1,000 India Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation Pvt Ltd
8 Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park 1,000 Pakistan Xinjiang SunOasis, Zonergy
9 Rewa Solar Park 750 India Rewa ultra Mega Solar Ltd
10 Enel Villanueva PV Plant 754 Mexico Enel Green Power SpA
11 Cauchari Solar Project 300 Argentina Jemse SE
12 Sakuto Solar Power Project 258 Japan Pacifico Energy
13 Solara4 PV Plant 221 Portugal WElink Energy
14 Bungala Solar Farm 220 Australia Enel Green Power & Dutch Infrastructure Fund
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 9
Figure 1.4: China’s Renewable Energy Outlook
Source: AECEA , Bank of America Merrill Lynch Research
Given the magnitude of solar projects under development in India, we detail the largest
solar projects there separately (refer Section 1.2).
CMIG Wuzhong Yanchi PV Plant, 2,000 MW, China
In 2016, China’s Minsheng Investment Group Co. Ltd. (CMIG) commissioned Phase 1, sized
at 380 MW, of this PV facility at Zhongwei in the Ningxia Autonomous Region. Construction
was undertaken by Jiangsu Electric Power Construction No3 Engineering Co. Over the
planned five-year investment program, the total project size is reported at 2,000 MW over
4,600 hectares at a cost of US$2.3bn.25 This project is reported to be part of CMIG’s target
to invest US$15bn in 20 GW of solar projects in China by 2020.26 CMIG’s website mentions
completion of the 2 GW project, but provides no details.27
Scatec Solar Benban V PV Plant, 1,800 MW, Egypt
In March 2018, Egyptian Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker reported that PPAs for the
proposed Benban solar power complex in Egypt had been signed.28 The first tranche of
400 MW, which reached financial close at the end of 2017, is being built by Scatec Solar
of Norway. Equity partners include the Norwegian DFI Norfund and Africa50, the
infrastructure fund for Africa.29
25 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-20/out-of-china-s-dusty-northwest-corner-a-solar-behemoth-arises 26 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-12/minsheng-new-energy-plans-15-billion-of-investments-in-5-
years 27 https://www.cm-inv.com/en/gffp/index.htm 28 http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/292256/Business/Economy/Orascom-Construction,-Engie,-and-Toyota-
Tsusho-to-.aspx 29 http://www.scatecsolar.com/About/Press-and-media/Press-releases/Financial-innovation-enables-Scatec-Solar-to-
launch-projects-worth-nearly-USD-one-billion
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 10
The overall Benban complex, which covers a 37 square km area allocated to Egypt's New
and Renewable Energy Agency (NREA), has been sub-divided into plots allowing for
plants of 20 MW to 50 MW each, with a total capacity for the site of up to 1.8 GW.30
The Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank has proposed loans of US$210m to support 11 new
solar projects for this development.31 This builds on a proposed US$335m debt package
announced in November 2017 from a consortium of export credit agencies, including the
U.N.’s Green Climate Fund, Norway’s GIEK, EBRD, the Dutch development bank FMO, the
Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the
Private Sector.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, 1,013 MW, UAE
This facility, in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is planned to have a total PV
capacity of 1,013 MW plus an associated 700 MW of solar thermal (see Section 2).32 Dubai
Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) commissioned the first phase of 13 MW in 2013; the
second phase, totalling 200 MW, was commissioned in 2017. DEWA, along with its
consortium partners EDF Energies Nouvelles SA of France and Masdar Abu Dhabi Future
Energy Co., have scheduled a staged completion of the 800 MW third phase (200 MW in
2018, 300 MW in 2019 and the final 300 MW in 2020).33 Phase one of 200 MW has just been
commissioned,34 taking the total commissioned capacity of the solar park to 413 MW. Just
When work on this last phase began in 2016 the contracted power price was just
$29.90/MWh, at the time a world record low for solar power.35
Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, 1,000 MW, Pakistan
The Quaid-e-Azam facility in Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab Desert has an ambitious
1,000 MW target. The project, part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, is being developed
by China’s Xinjiang SunOasis (100 MW) and Zonergy (900 MW). The first 100 MW was
commissioned in September 2015 at a cost of US$131m,36 and a total of 400 MW has been
commissioned. The area is reported to have 13 hours of sunlight daily.37 This project, along
with several other enormously ambitious wind, hydro and coal power projects, is part of
the strategic US$46bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.38
Enel Villanueva PV Plant, 754 MW, Mexico
Enel Green began building this PV facility in Viesca, Coahila, in March 2017 as part of a
renewable energy investment program developed by the Energy Regulatory Commission
(CRE) of Mexico. Commissioning of the US$650m project is due by September 2018; once
operational it will be the largest solar project in the Americas.39 As of March 2018, the
project was 41% complete, but progressing rapidly.40 41
30http://www.ebrd.com/cs/Satellite?c=Content&cid=1395256092470&d=Mobile&pagename=EBRD%2FContent%2FCont
entLayout 31 https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2018-asian-infrastructure-investment-bank-jin-liqun-interview/ 32 http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2140281/uae-are-renewables-new-oil 33 https://mercomindia.com/uae-phase-four-concentrated-
solar/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3B2Ru42DnUTs+jHhUSl1fDbQ== 34 https://gulfnews.com/news/uae/environment/solar-park-3rd-phase-starts-generating-clean-energy-1.2214900 35 https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/customer/innovation/renewable-energy/phases-of-energy-production 36 http://www.pakistan-china.com/mn-news-detail.php?id=NDc0&pageid=news 37 http://www.eco-business.com/news/china-helps-pakistan-build-worlds-largest-solar-farm/ 38 https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/7864-China-s-new-silk-road-What-s-in-it-for-Pakistan- 39 https://www.enelgreenpower.com/media/press/d/2017/03/enel-begins-construction-of-the-americas-largest-solar-
photovoltaic-plant 40 https://www.enelgreenpower.com/media/news/d/2018/03/enel-green-power-mexico-inaugurates-villanueva-largest-
solar-pv-plant-in-the-americas 41 https://youtu.be/sQ7KnJxU66E
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 11
In October 2017, Enel sold an 80% stake in 1.7GW of Mexican renewable energy projects
for US$1.35bn to two pension funds, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CPDQ)
and the CKD Infrastructure Mexico.42 The projects were a mix of operational and under-
construction projects, including the Villanueva PV facility.
Mexico's energy transition law, part of the country’s 2014 energy reforms, stipulates that
25% of the nation’s electricity must be generated from renewable sources by 2018; 30%
by 2021; 35% by 2024; 45% by 2036; and 60% by 2050.
Cauchari Solar Project, 300 MW, Argentina
Construction of the Cauchari solar project in northern Argentina began in October 2017.
The project comprises three 100 MW parks spread over 800 hectares. All told, the project
will cost an estimated US$400m and will create 600 construction jobs. It is being actively
supported by China, with the Export-Import Bank of China financing part of the project
loans.43 Jujuy Energia y Mineria Sociedad del Estado (JEMSE) is constructing the facility.
Shanghai Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd. and Talesun Solar Co. Ltd. are the
associate developers and own a 20% stake in the project, while JEMSE owns 80%.44 The
project is one of the two solar facilities, totalling 400 MW, that were selected in round one
of the country’s 1 GW RenovAr program. The plant will sell power under a 20-year PPA at
US$60/MWh45 to the wholesale electric market operator Compañía Administradora del
Mercado Mayorista Eléctrico (CAMMESA).
Sakuto, 258 MW, Japan
The Sakuto project in Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, is being developed by Pacifico
Energy K.K. with a target commissioning date of September 2019.46 All electricity will be
sold to Chugoku Electric Power, the regional utility. On completion, this project is likely to
be the largest commissioned in Japan.47 The plant is expected to generate 290 GWh of
electricity annually, which translates to a capacity utilisation rate of just 12.8%. The facility
is being built on a former golf course and will cover 400 ha. Japan was the second-largest
nation globally in 2015-2016 in terms of total solar installs behind China, but it’s very low
solar radiation and resulting low utilisation rates, combined with the high cost of land and
labour, has made the solar tariffs required prohibitively expensive for Japan absent
significant subsidies.
Solara4 PV Plant, 221 MW, Portugal
Construction of the Solara4 in Vaqueiros, Algrave, began in October 2017. The proponent
is the Irish renewables firm WElink Energy and the investment cost is US$242m. The project is
Europe's largest unsubsidised solar plant to date. The engineering, procurement, and
construction (EPC) contract sits with China Triumph International Engineering (CTIEC).48
Bungala Solar Farm, 220 MW, Australia
The Bungala facility, which is being built near Port Augusta, South Australia, is the largest
solar project under construction in the country. The project was designed by Aurecon and
is being built by Spain’s Elecnor for project developers Reach Solar and PwC, who have
42 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/10/09/enel-sells-80-of-1-gw-large-scale-solar-in-mexico/ 43 http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-10/07/c_136663223.htm 44 https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5275141/jemse-cauchari-solar-power-plant-300-mw-jujuy-project-profile.html 45 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/10/09/jemse-breaks-ground-on-300-mw-solar-park-in-argentina/ 46 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/04/28/pacifico-starts-building-258-mw-in-western-japan/ 47 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170428005227/en/Pacifico-Energy-Commences-Construction-Japans-
Largest-Solar & http://www.pacificoenergy.jp/en/project/ 48 http://solar.energy-business-review.com/news/welink-energy-begins-construction-of-221mw-solar-power-plant-in-
portugal-271017-5958627
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 12
since sold the equity to a joint venture between Enel Green Energy and the Dutch
Infrastructure Fund. The first phase, totalling 110 MW, was connected to the grid in April
2018, supported by an Origin Energy PPA. The second stage, also 110 MW, is due for
completion in 2019. Total project costs are reported at A$315m. A third phase, to include
another 80 MW of generation and a battery storage system, reportedly is under
consideration. The project is spread over 800 ha of rural land owned by the Bungala
Aboriginal Corporation.49 It is being built near the last coal-fired power plant in South
Australia, closed in 2016.50
In 2018 Australia has 5,056 MW of renewable projects under construction,51 including
Lighthouse Solar’s 100 MW Claire solar project;52 Edify Energy’s 150 MW Daydream and
ESCO’s 148 MW Ross River solar projects, all in Queensland.
There is a growing multitude of Australian solar project proposals, including a 1.5 GW giant
for South East Queensland,53 Pacific Hydro’s 500MW multi-stage Haughton solar proposal,54
Equis Energy’s 1,000 MW project at Wandoan in Queensland (plus their 127 MW Tailem
Bend project in South Australia and a 150 MW Collinsville North solar farm in
Queensland55), Photon Energy’s 316 MW proposal in NSW, the Lyon Group’s Riverland 330
MW project and Maoneng Australia’s 250 MW venture in Sunraysia, NSW.56
200 GW of Solar in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) in March 2018 with SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi calling for
the construction of 200 GW of solar capacity, valued at US$200bn, in stages through
2030.57 We include reference to this MoU even though financial close is yet to be reached
because the project would be transformative, both for Saudi Arabia and the global solar
industry. If developed to its full potential, this investment would singularly lift global solar
installations by 20%, further driving a step-change in scale and investment that in turn
would underpin investment in research and development (R&D), plus spur learning by
doing and even greater economies of scale.
Saudi Arabia has the financial capacity to undertake this huge development, and its
enormous desert area means land availability is not a constraint. The country also has
some of the best solar radiation in the world, ensuring maximum solar productivity. If fully
developed, the project would transform the Saudi economy over the next 13 years, giving
it access to exceptionally low-cost wholesale electricity likely at just US$20-25/MWh. This
would facilitate development of ancillary industries and vertical integration of the supply
chain, with all the associated investment, employment and export opportunities.
A key feature of the project will be the construction of “the largest utility-scale battery” to
supply “evening hour” power to consumers, albeit no details have been released on this.58
49 https://www.power-technology.com/projects/bungala-solar-pv-plant-port-augusta/ 50 https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-biggest-solar-farm-switches-port-augusta-52493/ 51 http://greenmarkets.com.au/news-events/renewable-energy-index-february-2018 52 https://reneweconomy.com.au/queenslands-biggest-solar-farm-connects-grid-67965/ 53 https://reneweconomy.com.au/massive-1-5gw-solar-plant-proposed-for-south-east-queensland-16103/ 54 https://reneweconomy.com.au/powerlink-signs-500mw-solar-project-sees-30gw-pipeline-36402/ 55 http://reneweconomy.com.au/equis-plans-1000mw-solar-farm-in-heart-of-queenslands-gas-country-90246/ 56 https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/australia-s-largest-solar-plant-to-build-in-2018-20171205-p4yxem.html 57 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-28/saudi-arabia-softbank-ink-deal-on-200-billion-solar-project 58 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-29/batteries-included-even-the-huge-saudi-solar-farm-will-use-
them
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 13
1.2 India’s Largest Utility-Scale Solar Projects Under Development
India has launched an aggressive program to accelerate deployment of renewable
energy across the country, setting an ambitious target of 275 GW of renewable energy,
representing 40% of India’s total targeted installed generation capacity, by 2027 (see
Figure 1.5 below). Solar will play the dominant role, with upward of 165 GW across utility-
scale projects, rooftop installations, floating solar, hybrid wind-solar and concentrated
solar power (CSP). The announcement in April 2018 of a 5 GW solar park in Gujarat
highlights the size of the effort, which is motivated in large part by escalating pollution
pressures and steep price declines in renewable energy tariffs, particularly solar, in the
past several years. These price declines have topped 50% since the start of 2016, turning
renewable energy into the lowest-cost source of new capacity, with pricing up to 20%
below the average power tariff of existing, domestic thermal power plants.
In terms of exploring various models of new technology application in India, solar-wind-
battery hybrid systems have now entered the Indian electricity sector. In April 2018, Hero
Future Energies co-located a 50 MW wind farm with a 29 MW solar project59 to best
leverage the 50 MW grid connection investment and start the process of addressing how
the grid will increasingly accommodate higher variable renewable energy generation.
This model also employs better land use and takes advantage of existing regulatory
approvals. Following this, in the same month, Andhra Pradesh government announced a
tender for 2 GW of solar and wind to be co-installed with existing operational 2 GW of
solar and wind projects in the Ananthapur district of the state.60 This emergence of a
hybrid model in India stems from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE)
draft wind-solar-battery hybrid policy which targets 10 GW by 2022.61
Figure 1.5: India’s National Electricity Plan to 2027
Source: Indian National Electricity Plan 2018, CEA, IEEFA estimates
59 https://www.pv-tech.org/editors-blog/hero-launches-indias-first-solar-wind-hybrid-project 60 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/seci-invites-bids-for-2000-mw-hybrid-solar-and-wind-
projects/63943302 61 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-announces-national-wind-solar-hybrid-
policy/articleshow/64163756.cms
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 14
India has pioneered the concept of the ultra mega power plant (UMPP) in a single solar
Industrial park, and India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) initially set a
target for 40 industrial solar parks with a combined capacity of 20 GW, but in 2017
doubled this target to 40 GW by 2022.
The UMPP concept involves a state government or local distribution company facilitating
a single central grid connection and taking on the procurement and time-delay risks
relating to land acquisition. This approach has been instrumental in driving economies of
scale and procuring global capital flows into India over the last two years, with an
immediate boon in the form of a halving of solar tariffs to a record low of Rs2.44/kWh
(US$39/MWh) achieved in mid-2017.
Over 2016/17, India commissioned two of the four largest solar projects in the world, one
each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, two of the best solar radiation sites in the
country. What will be the largest operational solar project in the world, at 2,225 MW, is due
for commissioning in 2019 at Bhadla in the desert of Rajasthan, with a 2,000-MW facility at
Pavagada in Karnataka due online at the same time. A renewable energy grid
transformation in India is under way, driving deflation, improved energy security, reduced
reliance on fossil fuel imports and providing some relief from pollution pressures as well.
Figure 1.6 below outlines 12 of the largest industrial solar parks in India to date. We have
listed them by size, grouped by those already operational, then those partly operational
and grid connected, then those understood to be under construction. Finally, we detail
several plants that have been announced but are not yet under construction.
Figure 1.6: Twelve of the Largest Indian Utility Solar Projects in Development
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park, 1,000 MW, Andhra Pradesh
The 1,000 MW Kurnool solar facility is India’s largest operational solar project. The project,
located in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. epitomises the UMPP model, which relies on
attracting international capital from firms such as Greenko, backed by sovereign wealth
funds of Abu Dhabi and Singapore, SoftBank of Japan in partnership with Foxconn of
No Project NameSize
(MW)Status State
1 Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park 1,000 Operational Andhra Pradesh
2 Adani Kamuthi Solar Plant 648 Operational Tamil Nadu
3 Bhadla Industrial Solar Park 2,225 Part ially Operational Rajasthan
4 Pavagada Solar Park 2,000 Part ially Operational Karnataka
5 Ananthapuramu - I Solar Park 1,500 Part ially Operational Andhra Pradesh
6 Kadapa Solar Park 1,000 Under construction Andhra Pradesh
7 Rewa Solar Park 750 Under construction Madhya Pradesh
8 Dholera Solar Park (Gulf of Khambhat) 5,000 Announced Gujarat
9 Fatehgargh Solar Park 1,500 Announced Rajasthan
10 Agar-Shajapur-Rajgarh Solar Park 1,050 Announced Madhya Pradesh
11 Ramanathapuram Solar Park 500 Announced Tamil Nadu
12 Ananthapuramu - I I Solar Park 500 Announced Andhra Pradesh
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 15
Taiwan and BHEL (trading as SBG Cleantech), as well as Indian investors such as Adani
Green Power and Azure Power.62
Andhra Pradesh Solar Power Corporation (APSPCL) led the development effort, first by
acquiring nine square miles of land for the project and then working to secure funding of
Rs500,000 ($7,700) per MW to improve roads, drinking water and training facilities in
surrounding villages. Local skilled and semi-skilled workers also were given preference for
job opportunities in the solar park.63
Under the UMPP scheme, the national government provided a subsidy of Rs200,000
(US$3,000) per MW to APSPCL to develop the solar park.
The first 500 MW was awarded to Sun Edison at Rs4.63/kWh in January 2016, and 350 MW
was awarded to SBG Cleantech at Rs4.63/kWh, 100 MW to Azure Power of India at
Rs5.12/kWh and 50 MW to Adani Green at Rs5.13/kWh. Just a year later, solar tariffs were
up to 50% lower,64 highlighting the price deflation sweeping through the Indian market.
Adani Kamuthi Solar Plant, 648 MW, Tamil Nadu
Adani Green Power’s Kamuthi facility in Ramanathapuram district was the world’s largest
solar plant when it was commissioned in September 2016. The plant was planned and
built in two years with an investment of US$679m and covers 2,500 acres.65
It was built without securing the necessary water licences for module maintenance and
washing, forcing developers to look for other solutions. They solved this issue by
incorporating a new self-charging, remotely operated, waterless robotic cleaning system
developed by Israel’s Ecoppia and manufactured in India, a cost-effective and efficient
technique that optimises the cleaning process, guaranteeing long-term high
performance.66 67
Bhadla Industrial Solar Park, 2,225 MW, Rajasthan
The Bhadla facility in Rajasthan will have a total capacity of 2,225 MW when completed in
2019. The first 680 MW was commissioned in August 2017. The facility is being developed
by Adani Renewable Energy Parks Rajasthan Ltd., a joint venture of the government of
Rajasthan and Adani Green Power.
Various developers are involved in the park, including ACME, SBG Rising Sun, Rattan India,
Fortum of Sweden, Azure Power, Avaada Power and ENGIE of France. In March 2018 SBG
Cleantech confirmed it was on-track to commission 600 MW of new solar at Bhadla this
coming year as part of its US$20bn commitment to Indian solar development.68 The full
2,225 MW is due for completion by April 2019.69 The Bhadla plant also features the Ecoppia
module cleaning system.70
62 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/ap-makes-rapid-strides-1-gw-ultra-mega-solar-park-nearing-
completion-in-kurnool/article9670458.ece 63 https://www.nrdc.org/experts/anjali-jaiswal/worlds-largest-solar-park-kurnool-india 64 http://apspcl.ap.gov.in/content/kurnoolultramegasolarparks 65 http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/solar-power-plant-kamuthi-tamil-nadu-world-largest-4403895/ 66 https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/india-holds-the-crown-for-worlds-largest-solar-pv-project-for-
now#gs.BjGIO6Y 67 http://www.ecoppia.com/technology/ 68 http://www.powertoday.in/News/Govt-needs-to-provide-certainty-on-regulatory-front/111271 69 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/rajasthan-aims-3780-mw-solar-capacity-by-april-next-
year/63812414 70 https://www.pv-magazine-india.com/2018/03/14/engie-commisions-140-mw-plant-bhadla-signs-250-mw-solar-ppa/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 16
Pavagada Solar Park (Shakti Sthala), 2,000 MW, Karnataka
The Pavagada solar park in Karnataka is the second largest industrial solar park globally
currently under construction. This facility illustrates how quickly renewable energy
infrastructure can be planned, financed and built when a suitable energy policy
framework is in place.71 As of January 2018, 600 MW was already operational (priced back
in 2016 at Rs4.79/kWh, or US$73/MWh). March 2018 saw a further 550 MW successfully
tendered by the state government-owned Karnataka Renewable Energy Development
Limited (KREDL) at prices of Rs2.91-2.93/kWh (US$45/MWh)—39% lower than the first tender
two years earlier.72 This section should be operational no later than 2019. Leading Indian
domestic renewable energy developers to win this round were Renew Power (300 MW),
Avaada Energy (150 MW) and Azure Energy (100 MW). An additional 650 MW tender for
Pavagada has been deferred due to regulatory uncertainties relating to the threat of a
70% solar module import duty combined with the 25% rise in the price of Chinese modules
in India since the middle of 2017.73
Ananthapuramu - I Solar Park, 1,500 MW, Andhra Pradesh
Ananthapuramu – I Solar Park is the largest under construction in Andhra Pradesh; it is
spread across two villages in the district of Ananthapuramu and Kadapa. The 1,500 MW
project will be the largest PV facility to be built from domestically manufactured solar cells
and modules, aligning with Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ program. NTPC Ltd,
India’s state owned utility, is planning to develop 1,000 MW of the 1,500 MW total. The first
phase of 250 MW was commissioned by NTPC in 2015 with a PPA with the Andhra Pradesh
state-owned electricity distribution company at Rs5.96/kWh (US$91/MWh).74 In May 2018
NTPC completed a tender for the remaining 750 MW at Rs2.71-2.72/kWh, just 45% of the
tariff pricing of just three years ago.75
Ananthapuramu – II, totalling 500 MW, will be built near four villages of the same district.
Kadapa Solar Park, 1,000 MW, Andhra Pradesh
The 5,928 acre, 1,000 MW Kadapa facility is being developed by the Andhra Pradesh Solar
Power Corporation (a joint venture of the government of Andhra Pradesh and the
government of India). The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) awarded the bulk of
the facility’s capacity, 750 MW in April 2017 at what was then a competitive price of
Rs3.15/kWh result.76 But with the continuing, sharp price deflation that characterised 2017
that saw solar tariffs drop to a record low of Rs2.44/kWh, the distribution companies
involved refused to honour the proposed contracts. While clearly an issue for the solar
sector, this price deflation is a much graver threat for the country’s already financially
troubled thermal power generators, raising serious concerns about massive stranded asset
risks in the sector. The remaining 250 MW was won by ENGIE of France’s SolaireDirect
under a bundling strategy (tying at-the-time more expensive solar with lower-cost coal-
fired power that can be supplied when solar electricity is not being generated).77
71 https://mercomindia.com/karnataka-top-solar-state-india/ 72 https://mercomindia.com/lowest-tariff-kredl-pavagada-solar-auction/ 73 https://mercomindia.com/solar-manufacturers-expansion-plan-import-tariff/ 74 http://apspcl.ap.gov.in/content/npkuntasite 75 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/strong-response-drop-in-tariffs-at-ntpc-solar-
auction/64109174 76 http://apspcl.ap.gov.in/content/kadapa-ultra-mega-solar-park-1000-mw-1 77 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/ntpc-searches-for-buyer-for-kadapa-solar-parks-
power/articleshow/61193076.cms
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 17
Rewa Solar Park, 750 MW, Madhya Pradesh
This 750 MW facility in Madhya Pradesh is being developed by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd.,
a joint venture between SECI and the Madhya Pradesh distribution company (MPUVNL).
Three developers—Mahindra Renewables, ACME Solar and Solenergi Power Ltd.—have
each won the right to develop a 250-MW solar project at the competitive tariff of
Rs2.97/kWh (US$44/MWh),78 with commissioning scheduled for December 2018. An
interesting feature of this solar park is that 24% of its generated electricity will be sold to
the Delhi Metro, providing 90% of its daytime electricity requirements;79 the balance will be
purchased by MPUVNL.
Gulf of Khambhat Solar, 5,000 MW, Gujarat
Vijay Rupani, chief minister of Gujarat, announced plans in April 2018 for a 5,000 MW solar
park covering 11,000 ha along the Gulf of Khambhat at an estimated cost of US$4bn. The
development would create 20,000 jobs during construction.80
Fatehgarh Solar Park, 1,500 MW, Rajasthan
The Adani Renewable Energy Park Rajasthan Ltd (AREPRL) in the Jaisalmer district of
Rajasthan is a proposed joint venture between Adani Green Power Ltd. and the
Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd.81
A transmission agreement covering 1,000 MW has been signed between AREPRL and
PGCIL.82 Beyond the agreement, however, there is little evidence of progress or tendering
activity within the park.
Agar-Shajapur-Rajgarh Solar, 1,050 MW, Madhya Pradesh
In Madhya Pradesh, the 1,050-MW Agar-Shajapur-Rajgarh facility has been proposed by
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Ltd. This follow the 750 MW Rewa project noted above, with a
third, the 700 MW Neemuch-Mandsaur solar park to follow. Madhya Pradesh plans to
bring 2.5 GW of industrial solar online by 2020.83
Ramanathapuram Solar Plant, 500 MW, Tamil Nadu
The state’s distribution company (TANGEDCO) won the right in December 2017 to convert
a 1,500 acre site in Kadaladi originally procured for the development of a now stranded
import-coal-fired power plant. TANGEDCO is now proposing to use the site for a 500-MW
industrial solar park, taking advantage of the area’s high solar radiation. Completion is
due in 2019.84 Given that there are upward of 50 GW of stranded, partly-built thermal
power plants across India, and an additional 48 GW of end-of-life thermal power plants
slated for closure by 2027, land rezoning for solar reuse is a major opportunity in the
country.
78 https://mercomindia.com/new-record-low-solar-tariff-rs-3-30kwh-logged-rewa-solar-park-auction-madhya-pradesh-
india/ 79 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/madhya-pradesh-to-produce-cheapest-solar-power-in-india-at-rs-2-97-
per-unit/articleshow/57086986.cms 80 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/indias-gujarat-approves-5gw-solar-park 81 https://www.areprl.com 82 https://www.areprl.com/features/#projGlance 83 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/mp-push-towards-solar-energy-addition-of-2000-mw-in-next-3-
years/articleshow/62301110.cms 84 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/tamil-nadu-power-utility-to-set-up-solar-park-in-
ramanathpuram/62127999
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 18
2. World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Projects
Steady expansion has occurred across the concentrated solar power (CSP) sector over
the past decade, that it has happened slower than the deployment of PV or wind power.
Given the relative simplicity of manufacturing and constructing solar PV and wind, plus
their enormous ongoing cost deflation, some analysts argue that CSP with storage at a
capital cost of US$6-12m/MW (more than six times that of solar PV) has lost the renewable
energy race already. However, a CSP tariff analysis by the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA) in its 2018 report highlights that recent tendering activity shows
such a conclusion is premature. CSP generation costs on projects for delivery over 2020-
2022 of US$80-110/MWh are 50-70% below the 2014-2016 results of US$240-280/MWh. After
a decade of research, development and deployment (RD&D), SolarReserve looks ready
to deliver a step-change down in costs that could prove CSP is a competitive option for
delivering the most valuable form of electricity, on-demand renewable energy.
China is also getting into the CSP sector. China’s National Energy Administration (NEA)
includes in its 13th five-year (2016-2020) solar development plan a target for 5 GW of CSP
by 2020. As happened with PV, China’s involvement could provide the global impetus in
terms of critical mass in deployments and learning by doing to drive even faster
deflation.85
Figure 2.1: Fifteen of the Largest CSP Projects Globally Under Development
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
85 http://helioscsp.com/china-targets-5gw-of-concentrated-solar-power-for-2020/
No Project NameSize
(MW)
Storage
(MWh)Status Country Proponent
1 Mojave Solar Project 250 0 Operational USA Abengoa
2 Solana Plant 250 1500 Operational USA Abengoa
3 Genesis Solar 250 0 Operational USA NextEra Energy Group
4 Solaben Solar Thermal Plant 200 0 Operational Spain Abengoa & ITOCHU
5 Andasol Solar Power Stat ion 150 1,010 Operational Spain ACS Group, Marquesado Solar SL
6 Crescent Dunes 110 1,100 Operational USA Solar Reserve
7 PDO Amal Solar Thermal Plant 1,021 0 Part ially Operational Oman Petrolium Development Oman LLC
8 Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Power
Plant
500 2,805 Part ially Operational Morocco Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy
(MASEN)
9 Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum Solar Park
700 0 Under Construction UAE ACWA Power & Shanghai
Electric Co.
10 Aurora Solar Energy project 150 1,100 Under Construction Australia Solar Reserve
11 SunCan Dunhuang Phase I & I I 110 1,210 Under Construction China Beijing Shouhang IHW, SunCan
12 Sandstone STEG Plant 2,000 20,000 Announced USA Solar Reserve
13 Dongfang Energy CSP Project 2,000 0 Announced China SPIC Shijiazhuang Dongfang Energy
14 Copiapó Solar Thermal Project 260 3,380 Announced Chile Solar Reserve
15Redstone Solar Thermal Power
Project100 1,200 Announced South Africa Solar Reserve
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 19
Figure 2.2: CSP is Becoming Cost Competitive for Peaking Electricity
Source: SolarReserve, NRE, Paul Horn Inside Climate News, IEEFA estimates
Mojave Solar Project, 250 MW, U.S.
This 250 MW facility in California’s Mojave Desert was completed in December 2014. The
developer, Abengoa of Spain, was the primary investor in the US$1.6bn project86
supported by a US$1.2bn loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).87
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), a California utility, signed a 25-year PPA for the power.88 The
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that the plant, which covers two
square miles, will produce 600 GWh annually, giving it a capacity factor around 27%.
Solana, 250 MW, U.S.
Located in Arizona, Spain’s Abengoa Solar built the 250 MW Solana parabolic-trough CSP.
This is the first U.S. plant to incorporate a six-hour molten salt thermal energy storage
capacity, supplying peak electricity to Arizona Public Service under a 30-year PPA at
US$140/MWh. The plant was commissioned in October 2013 at a cost of US$2bn, of which
US$1.45bn was supported by a DOE loan guarantee. Solana covers 780 ha.89 The plant
has been producing 725 GWh of electricity, about 80% of its expected electricity
generation (a 31% capacity factor relative to the expected 38%).90 91
Genesis Solar, 250 MW, U.S.
The Genesis thermal project is a 250 MW CSP parabolic trough facility west of Blythe in
California owned by NextEra Energy Partners.92 Genesis uses solar collector mirrors to
concentrate sunlight to heat synthetic oil that, in turn, heat water to create steam, which
is then used to generate electricity. The facility, on land managed by the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management, took just over three years to construct; it was commissioned in March
2014. The project has a 25-year PPA with PG&E.93
Solaben Solar Thermal Plant, 200 MW, Spain
Solaben CSP (also known as the Extremadura Solar Complex) is in the city of Logrosan,
Extremadura; it was built by Abengoa Solar of Spain and Itochu of Japan. Commissioned
86 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2014/12/02/abengoa-puts-a-250-mw-solar-csp-plant-online-in-
california_100017351/#axzz3KsDKEti6 87 https://web.archive.org/web/20120127091257/https://lpo.energy.gov/?projects=abengoa-solar-inc-mojave-solar 88 https://www.utilitydive.com/news/abengoa-puts-250-mw-csp-array-online-in-california/339957/ 89 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=23 90 https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/browser/#/plant/56812 91 http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizonas-solana-solar-plant-transformer-fires-more-air-pollution-9640548 92 https://www.nexteraenergyresources.com/pdf_redesign/Genesis_factsheet.pdf 93 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=54
Project Location DeveloperCapacity
(MW)Status
Power
Price
US$/kWh
Date
Priced
Crescent Dunes Neveda US Solar Reserve 110 Operational 13.5 2009
Noor I I I Morocco ACWA Power/Sener 150 Under Construction 15.0 2014
Redstone South Africa SolarReserve/ACWA
Power
100 Preferred Bidder 12.4 2015
MBR Solar Park
Phase 4
Dubai ACWA Power/Shanghai
Electric
100 Construction Beginning
2017
7.3 2017
Aurora South Australia SolarReserve 150 Construction Beginning
2018
6.0 2017
Copiapo Copiapo, Chile SolarReserve 260 Pending Bid 5.0 2017
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 20
in September 2013, Solaben has four 50 MW units using parabolic troughs with single-axis
trackers. Each of the four units covers 280 acres.94 The 25-year PPA is for €0.27/kWh.95
Andasol Solar Power Station, 150 MW, Spain
The Andasol station near Guadix in Andalusia has a total parabolic trough solar capacity
of 150 MW and 7 hours or 1,010 MWh of molten salt storage across three units. Andasol I &
II, each with 50 MW capacity, were commissioned in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
Developed by ACS/Cobra Group, the units have a 25-year PPA with Endesa at a pricey
€270 MWh. Andasol III, also 50 MW, cost €315m and was commissioned in January 2010. It
was developed by Ferrostaal AG.96
Crescent Dunes, 110 MW, U.S.
The Crescent Dunes facility has 110 MW of capacity and 10 hours or 1,100 MWh of total
molten salt thermal energy storage. This facility, which uses dry cooling to minimize water
consumption, was commissioned in late 2015. It was built by SolarReserve in Tonopah,
Nevada, and has a planned life of 40 years.97 Crescent Dunes has a 25-year PPA with the
NV Energy utility at US$135/MWh. The project employs 40 permanent staff for operations
and maintenance, covers 725 ha, and took just over four years to construct.98
PDO Amal Solar Thermal Plant, 1,100 MW, Oman
The 1,100 MW PDO Amalis being developed by Petroleum Development Oman LLC
(PDO).99 The project is already partially operational, with 100 MW providing steam for
enhanced oil recovery at Oman’s Amal oil field. Construction commenced in 2015 and is
being managed by GlassPoint.100
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, 700 MW, UAE
This 700 MW facility, at Seih Al-Dahal in Dubai, is being sponsored by Dubai Electricity &
Water Authority (DEWA). Project development is being jointly undertaken by Saudi
Arabia’s ACWA Power and China’s Shanghai Electric Co. The consortium’s bid for the
project was US$73/MWh. Commissioning of the first phase of the facility is due at the end
of 2020;101 ground-breaking took place in March 2018.102 The project will feature a 600 MW
parabolic basin complex and a 100 MW solar tower.
As detailed in Section 1.1 above, this 700 MW CSP is Phase IV of the overall project, which
has a planned capacity total of 1,713 MW.
Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Power Plant, 580 MW, Morocco
Morocco wants to be the Saudi Arabia of solar energy, and its flagship Noor project is a
first of its kind, $9bn energy plant at Ouarzazate.103 Totalling a planned 580 MW of solar
capacity, it has four stages:
1. Noor I, at 146 MW net capacity and 480 MWh of molten salt storage, was
commissioned at the start of 2016, supported by a 25-year PPA costing US$189/MWh. It
94 https://www.protenders.com/companies/itochu/projects/solaben-solar-power-station 95 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=233 96 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=117 97 http://www.solarreserve.com/en/global-projects/csp/crescent-dunes 98 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=60 99 https://www.glasspoint.com/miraah/ 100 https://www.glasspoint.com///wp-content/uploads/GPS_MiraahFactSheet_v2.0_201802.pdf 101 https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/customer/innovation/renewable-energy/phases-of-energy-production 102 https://mercomindia.com/uae-phase-four-concentrated-
solar/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3B2Ru42DnUTs%2BjHhUSl1fDbQ%3D%3D 103 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/morocco-turns-the-sahara-desert-into-a-solar-energy-oasis
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 21
had a capital cost of €1,042m and covers 450 ha. This stage is owned and was
developed by ACWA Power; the EPC contractors were Acciona, Sener and TSK.104
2. Noor II at 185 MW net capacity and 6.5 hours of storage was commissioned in January
2018 at a cost of US$3.9bn. Noor II has a PPA of US$140/MWh; the developer is ACWA
and the EPC contractor was Sener.105
3. Noor III is planned as a 134 MW CSP unit with 7.5 hours of storage. The PPA is priced at
US$150/MWh.
4. Noor IV is a planned 80 MW solar PV project.106
Aurora Solar Energy, 135 MW, Australia
SolarReserve U.S., aims to commission a facility with 135 MW of net deliverable generation
(150 MW gross) and with 8 hours of molten salt storage totalling 1,100 MWh. The capacity
factor is estimated at 42%, delivering 500 GWh annually over a planned 40-year life.107 The
project involves a 227-meter solar tower 30 km north of Port Augusta in South Australia. It is
scheduled to enter commercial service at the end of 2020, and will cost US$600m
(A$750m). The plant, termed a high-temperature solar thermoelectric generator (STEG),108
is in one of the best solar resource locations in Australia.
The project is contracted to provide dispatchable solar plus grid services at a very
competitive peak power price reported at just over US$60/MWh (A$75-78/MWh) over the
20-year contract life, well below the prevailing wholesale price average over the past few
years. The estimated A$9.50/MWh average for the renewable energy certificates plus a a
maximum agreed price of A$78/MWh suggests a total electricity price of A$85-88/MWh
(US$70/MWh). This exceptionally competitive pricing is also conditional upon a loan
totalling A$110m at 3% interest from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).109
Announced in 2015 and permitted in January 2018, construction on this project may be
slowed by the recent election in South Australia, where the Labor Party and Premier Jay
Weatherill were turned out of office. Weatherill’s government had been a strong
supporter of the Aurora project.
SunCan Dunhuang Phase I & II, 110 MW, China
After a decade of prioritising solar PV, China is now looking at peaking-electricity
demands and grid stability, and as a result is moving forward with 20 CSP solar projects
totalling 1.35 GW of capacity. One of the largest is the SunCan Dunhuang Phase I & II in
the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province. Beijing Shouhang IHW and SunCan
commissioned a pilot in December 2016, a 10 MW unit with 15 hours of storage at a cost
of Rmb420m.110 In November 2016, SunCan commenced construction of Phase II, a 100
MW unit with 11 hours of molten salt storage. The targeted commissioning date is August
2018.111 112
104 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=270 105 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=4292 106 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouarzazate_Solar_Power_Station#cite_note-noor2nrel-3 107 http://www.solarreserve.com/en/global-projects/csp/aurora 108 https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/01/f7/csp_review_meeting_042313_ginley.pdf 109 http://reneweconomy.com.au/aurora-what-you-should-know-about-port-augustas-solar-power-tower-86715/ 110 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=6315 111 https://www.nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=4303 112 http://helioscsp.com/suncan-dunhuang-100-mw-concentrated-solar-power-tower-project-to-operate-by-aug-2018/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 22
Sandstone STEG Plant, 2,000 MW, U.S.
The Sandstone STEG Plant in Nevada is being developed by SolarReserve. Announced in
October 2016, the US$5bn proposal would use at least 100,000 mirrors and 10 towers
across 6,500 ha with a target for commissioning by 2024.113 With a proposed capacity of
2,000 MW, storage is put at 10 hours, or 20,000 MWh.114 No PPA has been signed, nor has a
site been selected, suggesting that this remains a speculative project.
Dongfang Energy CSP Project, 2,000 MW, China
A January 2018 Shenzhen stock exchange announcement noted that China’s SPIC
Shijiazhuang Dongfang Energy plans to build a CSP plant in Inner Mongolia with a
capacity of 2 GW at a cost of US$7.3bn. The project would be the largest of its kind in the
world.115 The first phase would be a 200 MW unit costing an estimated US$728m as part of
China’s target for 5 GW of CSP by 2020.
Copiapó Solar Thermal Project, 260 MW, Chile
The proposed US$2bn Copiapó project, located northeast of the city of Copiapó in
Chile’s Atacama region, will provide 260 MW of capacity with 13 hours of storage totalling
3,400 MWh of continuous 24-hour solar power. Copiapó received all of its permits in 2015
and is shovel ready.116 In March 2017, SolarReserve unsuccessfully bid this unsubsidized
project into Chile’s renewable energy auction at just US$63/MWh, less than half the price
of SolarReserve’s US$135/MWh tariff on Crescent Dunes commissioned in 2015.117
Redstone Solar Thermal Power Project, 100 MW, South Africa
In April 2018, SolarReserve and International Company for Power and Water (ACWA
Power) signed a US$120/MWh, 20-year PPA with Eskom, South Africa’s public utility, for the
100 MW/1,200 MWh Redstone project. This integrated molten salt energy storage project is
a key part of the South African Department of Energy’s Renewable Energy Independent
Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), being able to deliver electricity for
up to 17 hours per day. The project will have 26% Black Economic Empowerment
shareholding, and has committed to a 2.5% community trust.118 The Redstone project will
be located near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape Province, adjacent to the 75 MW
Lesedi and 96 MW Jasper PV solar power projects, developed by SolarReserve.
113 http://www.solarreserve.com/en/global-projects/csp/sandstone 114 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/solarreserve-plans-2gw-csp-plant-in-nevada 115 https://af.reuters.com/article/africaTech/idAFL4N1PK34T 116 http://www.solarreserve.com/en/global-projects/csp/copiapo 117 https://cleantechnica.com/2017/03/13/solarreserve-bids-24-hour-solar-6-3-cents-chile/ 118 https://reneweconomy.com.au/solarreserve-and-acwa-sign-power-purchase-agreement-for-100-megawatt-solar-
thermal-project-with-energy-storage-in-south-africa-19278/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 23
3. Floating Solar Projects
Floating solar infrastructure has emerged as a new field of utility-scale solar development.
After several years of small scale, distributed pilot projects, 2017 saw the announcement
of several large scale projects across China and Indonesia. To-date in 2018, South Korea
and India have also joined the race, seeing the merits in optimal land-use. The global
scope is very significant, particularly for solar-pumped hydro storage hybrid applications.
Construction costs are materially higher for floating solar, but the technology comes with
four mitigating benefits:
1. Improved Performance: The waterborne nature of these projects keeps the solar
system cooler, therefore limiting panels’ vulnerability to the “temperature coefficient”
that results in performance degradation as ambient temperatures increase.
2. Better Land Utilisation: The use of significant amounts of previously unutilised surface
area at dams and wastewater treatment facilities improve asset utilisation and can
reduce loss of prime agricultural lands, and/or leverage areas close to high density
urban demand. Several of these facilities have been built on mine-reclamation sites.
3. Better Utilisation of Grid Infrastructure: The hybrid pairing of solar with hydro leverages
the grid connection infrastructure that already has been built for the seasonal use of
hydroelectricity, and the rapid start capacity of hydro means this hybrid can improve
combined facility utilisation of this grid connection and reduce variability relative to
stand-alone solar.
4. Peak Power Supply: If hybrid hydro facilities are appropriately configured, a pumped
hydro storage facility can better deliver into peak evening electricity demand periods,
providing a significant value uplift relative to midday solar generation.
Figure 3.1: Thirteen of the World’s Largest Floating Solar Projects
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
No Project NameSize
(MW)Status Country Proponent
1 Huainan Panji Pingweizhen Floating PV
Plant I
40.0 Operational China Sungrow Power & JA Solar
2 Kyocera Yamakura Dam Floating PV Plant 13.7 Operational Japan Kyocera TCL solar LLC
3 Queen Elizabeth I I Reservoir Floating PV
Plant
6.3 Operational England Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd
4 Banasura Sagar reservoir, Wayanad 0.5 Operational India Kerala State Electricity Board Limited
5 Floating Solar Plant by Three Gorges
Corp.
150.0 Part ially Operational China China Three Gorges New Energy
Corp.
6 Sungrow Floating Solar PV Plant 150.0 Under construction China SunGrow & Ciel & Terre (France)
7 CECEP's Anhui Province floating solar 70.0 Under construction China CECEP Solar (China), Ciel & Terre
(France)
8 Yen Bai province 500.0 Announced Vietnam Govt. of Vietnam and Solkiss
9 JSW Floating Solar Plant 250.0 Announced India JSW Energy
10 Masdar Floating Solar Project in Indonesia 200.0 Announced Indonesia Masdar Abu Dhabi Future Energy
11 Hwaseong Lake Floating Solar Plant 100.0 Announced South Korea Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea
Rural Community Corporation
12 Rihand Dam Floating Solar Project 150.0 Announced India Tender announced March 2018
13 Hangzhou Fengling Solar-Fish Farm 200.0 Operational China Hengtong Optic-Electric
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 24
Huainan Panji Pingweizhen Floating PV Plant I, 40 MW, China
The largest operating floating solar project to date is the 40 MW Huainan Panji facility,
completed by Sungrow Power Supply Co. Ltd. in May 2017 in the Huainan mining area of
Anhui Province in eastern China. The plant was built on a lake formed by a collapsed coal
mine. Anhui expects to build 3.2 GW of floating solar power on abandoned coal mines
and reported already is building a second project in the province, this one at 150 MW –
refer next page.119 Sungrow Power provided the inverters and JA Solar Holdings Co. the
modules; the electricity goes to the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) utility.
Kyocera’s Yamakura Dam Floating PV Plant, 13.7 MW, Japan
In March 2018, Kyocera TCL Solar commissioned its 13.7 MW Yamakura Dam Floating PV
Plant in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture; the largest such project to date in Japan. Tokyo-
based Kyocera TCL Solar is a joint venture between Kyocera Corporation and financial
services company Tokyo Century Corporation, which provided the financing. The
electricity generated is sold to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) as part of the
country’s effort to replace electricity generation lost in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear
power plant disaster. Floating solar is an especially good solution in Japan in the face of
cost and difficulties posed by land-acquisition issues. Japan has a number of inland
waterways and reservoirs built for agricultural and flood-control purposes that could be
used for the development of solar power plants. This installation covers 18 ha and has an
expected capacity factor of 13.5% due to Japan’s relatively low solar radiation.
Harold Meurisse, international business developer at floating solar developer Ciel et Terre
of France states that “in some countries, we are already more competitive than ground-
mounted systems … (particularly) where land is expensive and rare." 120 Ciel et Terre is
reported to have a target to build 100 MW of floating solar across Japan by 2020.
Banasura Floating Solar Power Plant, 0.5 MW, India
The smallest project featured in this report, the 500 kW system at the Banasura Sagar
reservoir in Wayanad was completed in 2017 at a total cost of US$1.5m. The project was
built so the Kerala State Electricity Board could test the technology as a potential addition
to the state’s extensive hydroelectricity infrastructure.
Showing the scope for exponential growth in solar technologies, SECI issued a 10 GW
contract exclusively for floating PV in December 2017.121 It is conceivable that no such
plans would be in the cards were it not for the humbly sized but strategically significant
project, which is in the southern state of Kerala.122
In February 2018, JSW Group of India announced that it would build a 4 MW floating solar
pilot with a view to setting up future projects totalling 250 MW.123
In April 2018, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited issued a request
for expressions of interest for up to 1 GW of floating solar for development on the Ujjani
Dam reservoir in the Solapur district of Maharashtra.124
119 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/sungrow-building-another-record-150mw-floating-solar-project-in-china 120 https://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/japan-s-biggest-floating-solar-plant-sparks-into-life-1.718330 121 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/indias-seci-invites-expression-of-interest-for-10gw-of-floating-solar 122 https://www.pv-tech.org/features/monsoon-rising-an-anchor-for-indias-floating-pv-dreams 123 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/jsw-plans-250mw-floating-solar-across-india-mahagenco-eyeing-250mw 124 https://mercomindia.com/msedcl-expression-interest-1-gw-floating-solar/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 25
China Three Gorges Floating Solar Power Plant, 150 MW, China
The largest partly operational floating solar project to-date is the 150 MW system being
built in Huainan, in the coal province of Anhui. This facility, which is being developed by
China Three Gorges New Energy, is similar to the operational Huainan Panji plant noted
above. The reported cost is Rmb1bn (US$150m); it is scheduled for completion in May
2018.125
Sungrow Floating Solar Power Plant, 150 MW, China
Using lessons learned from its previous 40 MW facility, Sungrow is now building a 150 MW
project in the same region. Ciel & Terre of France is involved in the EPC work.126
CECEP's Anhui Province Floating Solar Project, 70 MW, China
France’s Ciel & Terre in June 2017 was reported to have commenced building a 70 MW
floating solar project in Anhui Province for China’s CECEP. China's National Energy
Administration (NEA) issued a tender for 1 GW of floating solar for Anhui province. This
capacity is to be built across 12 inland reservoir sites, with nine companies being awarded
capacity, including CECEP, GCL, China Three Gorges and Sungrow.127
Yen Bai Province Project, 500 MW, Vietnam
In March 2017, the Vietnam government announced that Yen Bai province was teaming
up with South Korean renewable energy developer Solkiss to develop a 500 MW floating
solar project at Thac Ba Lake. Solkiss plans to request Korean government financial
assistance for the proposed US$1.1bn project.128 Given the extremely high development
costs, IEEFA assigns it a low probability of proceeding anytime soon at the current scale.
Still, the project highlights the scale of opportunity that is fast emerging in this solar niche.
Masdar Floating Solar Project, 200 MW, Indonesia
Masdar Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co. announced plans in November 2017 to build the
US$300m, 200 MW Masdar Floating Solar project across 225 ha of the Cirata Reservoir, site
of a 1,000 MW hydro facility in the West Java province of Indonesia.129 Indonesian local
partner PT Pembangkitan Jawa Bali (PJB) is reported to be taking a 51% stake, with
Masdar controlling the balance. Commissioning is reported to occur progressively by
2020. No electricity tariff has been finalized with Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN, the state-
owned utility), making financial close and then construction entirely subject to a binding
agreement. The project is supportive of the Indonesian government’s 23% renewables
target.130
Hwaseong Lake Floating Solar Plant, 100 MW, South Korea
In February 2018, state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power signed an MoU with solar
developer Hwaseong Solar Energy to construct a 100 MW, US$200m floating solar farm on
the western coast of South Korea.131
125 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/worlds-largest-floating-solar-plant-comes-partially-online-in-china 126 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/ciel-terre-starts-building-70mw-floating-pv-project-with-longi-mono-modules 127 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/ciel-terre-starts-building-70mw-floating-pv-project-with-longi-mono-modules 128 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/03/27/vietnam-province-taps-korean-government-for-assistance-on-500-mw-
solar-project/ 129 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/masdar-and-indonesian-power-giant-to-build-worlds-largest-floating-solar-pl 130 https://www.rambuenergy.com/2017/12/indonesia-to-have-its-first-and-largest-floating-solar-power-by-2019/ 131 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/02/12/south-korean-state-energy-firm-plans-100-mw-floating-pv-project/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 26
This project is part of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s renewable energy initiative to
increase renewables’ electricity-generation market share to 20% by 2030 from 7%
currently.
In July 2017, Korea Rural Community Corp. revealed plans to build up to 280 MW of
floating solar capacity at three sites by 2019. Two of the projects, 100 MW each, will be
located on lakes in Chungcheongnam province. The third, at 80 MW, is planned for a 96
ha site in Jeollanam province; it will be developed by Hanwha Q Cells jointly with Korea
Hydro & Nuclear Power in collaboration with Korean floating solar specialist Solkiss.132
In November 2017m a consortium led by Hanwha General Chemical was selected by
Korea Rural Community Corp. as the preferred bidder on construction of a 100-MW
floating solar plant in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province.133
In early 2016, state-run Korea Water Resources Corp (K-water) signed an agreement with
LG Electronics to build 1 GW of floating solar by 2022 on ponds and reservoirs throughout
South Korea.134 In February 2017, K-water announced it would partner with Korea Electric
Power Corp. (KEPCO) for a 40-MW floating solar power plant at the Hapcheon Dam.135
Rihand Dam Floating Solar Project, 150 MW, India
In March 2018, SECI tendered 100 MW of floating solar PV projects to be developed at the
Rihand Dam/Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar Reservoir, in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar
Pradesh.136 In April 2018, SECI upgraded the tender from 100 MW to 150 MW.137
Hangzhou Fengling Solar-Fish Farm, 200 MW, China
This is not a floating solar project per se, but its concept and associated advantages are
similar. The Hangzhou Fengling Solar-Fish Farm is a 200 MW project mounted on piles
above the surface of the Changhe and Zhouxiang reservoirs in Cixi, in Zhejiang province.
Completed in January 2017 at a cost of Rmb1.8bn (US$262m), the project spans 300 ha.
This was reported as a “new model” for solar-aquaculture projects, with PV modules
spaced far apart to allow enough sunlight to reach the water’s surface, which is critical
for the growth of fish.138
In January 2018, a 100 MW solar fish farm project in Shandong province was reported to
have been completed by China’s Hengtong Optic-Electric at a cost of US$120m.
A third 120 MW project, in Jiangxi province was completed in May 2016.139
132 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/hanwha-q-cells-developing-80mw-rotating-floating-solar-project-in-korea 133 http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20171102000734 134 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/07/10/korean-firm-to-build-280-mw-of-floating-pv-capacity/ 135 http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=17358 136 https://mercomindia.com/seci-100mw-floating-solar-tender/ 137 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/seci-increases-uttar-pradesh-floating-solar-tender-to-150mw 138 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/01/23/hangzhou-fengling-finishes-200-mw-solar-aquaculture-project/ 139 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/01/30/china-hengtong-launches-100-mw-solar-pv-plant-on-top-of-fish-farm/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 27
4. Rooftop Solar Projects
BNEF estimates that worldwide installations of solar projects less than 1 MW in size grew by
15% to US$49.4bn in 2017. Given the ongoing decline in total installation costs, global
residential plus commercial & industrial (C&I) by volume totalled 28 GW, up 27% year on
year versus 22 GW in 2016. BNEF puts cumulative global installations at 173 GW. With
module prices expected to fall an additional 15% in 2018, deflation remains a central
theme that means more markets globally are seeing rooftop solar pricing move below
grid parity.140
A similar deflationary pattern is emerging in stationary storage devices, which leads IEEFA
to project that the adoption of distributed solar with storage will accelerate in a manner
similar to other disruptive technologies such as mobile phones, the internet, and
computers (see Section 5).
Figure 4.1: Thirteen of the World’s Largest Rooftop Solar Projects
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
Dera Baba Jaimal Singh Solar Rooftop Project, 19 MW, India
The 19 MW Dera Baba solar rooftop project in Amritsar, Punjab was installed on the 82-
acre campus of the R.S.S.B. Educational and Environmental Society.141 Tata Power Solar
commissioned 11.5 MW in December 2015 across eight campus venues142 and L&T
140 http://fs-unep-centre.org/sites/default/files/publications/gtr2018v2.pdf 141 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/world-s-largest-rooftop-solar-power-plant-inaugurated-in-
punjab-116051701113_1.html 142 https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/tata-power-solar-commissions-worlds-largest-solar-rooftop-in-amritsar-276607-
2015-12-10
No Project NameSize
(MW)Status Country Proponent
1 Dera Baba Jaimal Singh Solar
Rooftop plant
19.0 Operational India L&T Constructions & Tata
Power
2 Tsuneishi Zhoushan Shipyard solar
stat ion, China
19.0 Operational China Asia Clean Capital & Tsuneishi
Group
3 Apple Park Solar Rooftop 17.0 Operational USA SunPower
4 Westmont Solar Energy Project 16.4 Operational USA PermaCity Solar
5 General Motors Zaragoza 11.8 Operational Spain Veolia Environment,
Clairvoyant Energy
6 Whirpool Corporation Rooftop Solar 10.0 Operational USA Southern California Edison
7 Amazon Carteret Warehouse Solar
Rooftop
7.5 Operational USA Sol Systems
8 Danone China Food & Beverage,
China
5.2 Operational China Asia Clean Capital & Danone
China
9 Sydney Markets Rooftop Solar 3.0 Part ially Operational Australia Autonomous Energy
10 Weinan Hancheng Longmen
Rooftop Plant
180.0 Under construction China Hancheng Yipin Sunshine New
Energy Technology Co Ltd
11 Azure Indian Railways Rooftop PV
Project
66.0 Announced India Azure Power
12 Microsoft Singapore (Data Centres) 60.0 Announced Singapore Sunseap
13 Zimbabwe Microgrid Rooftop Solar
Project
20.0 Announced Zimbabwe Oxygen Energy
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 28
Construction installed a 7.5 MW system in April 2014.143 A 25-year PPA for the output was
signed between Dera and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited.
SBG Cleantech highlighted in March 2018 the significant growth prospects for Indian C&I
rooftop solar due to a tiered pricing structure that requires C&I customers to pay Rs7-
8/kWh (US$115/MWh), double the retail tariffs available for residential customers.144
Tsuneishi Zhoushan Shipyard Solar Station, 19 MW, China
This shipyard rooftop solar facility is in the city of Zhoushan, China; the 19 MW unit was
connected to the grid in August 2017. Built by Asia Clean Capital Limited (ACC), the
project is currently the world’s largest building-integrated PV (BIPV) power station,
including more than 72,000 solar modules. ACC owns and maintains the solar system,
selling the electricity generated to Tsuneishi Group at an agreed-on price to deliver
savings and price certainty.145
ACC in February 2018 completed the installation of a 5.2 MW rooftop and carport solar
system for Danone at its factory in Xi’an, China. Danone has committed to supporting four
such factory projects across China.146
ACC also announced a joint venture in February 2018 with EDF Energies Nouvelles to
leverage ACC’s China rooftop expertise and to accelerate deployments.147
Apple’s Cupertino Headquarters, 17 MW, U.S.
Apple’s new US$5bn Cupertino Campus 2 headquarters in California and two associated
10,000 car carparks, host a 17 MW rooftop solar system, the largest in terms of generation
capacity in the U.S..148 Installed by SunPower, the system began operations in May 2017; it
is supplemented by a microgrid, 4 MW Bloom Energy fuel cell generation system and a
naturally ventilating building requiring no heating or air-conditioner cooling for nine
months of the year.149
Westmont Solar Energy Project, 16.4 MW, U.S.
The Westmont project in Los Angeles includes 50,000 solar panels over 20 ha that can
generate 16.4 MW of electricity. The project was developed by PermaCity Solar and
benefits from a feed-in tariff run by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
(LADWP). At completion in early 2017, developers said it was the world’s largest rooftop
solar project; the Punjab project is bigger, but covers multiple buildings on one campus.150
General Motors Zaragoza Rooftop Plant, 12 MW, Spain
The 12 MW rooftop solar facility on General Motor's factory in Zaragoza was developed
and commissioned in 2008 by Veolia Environment and Clairvoyant Energy. It cost €50m
and uses 85,000 solar panels made from a flexible, thin-film laminate branded as Uni-Solar
by Energy Conversion Devices (EDC) as a BIPV system.151
143 https://www.ecowatch.com/worlds-largest-solar-rooftop-system-goes-online-will-power-8-000-homes-
1891142279.html 144 http://www.powertoday.in/News/Govt-needs-to-provide-certainty-on-regulatory-front/111271 145 http://www.asiacleancapital.com/acc-tsuneishi-grid-connection/ 146 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/acc-develops-rooftop-carport-hybrid-pv-project-for-danone-in-china 147 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/edf-asia-clean-capital-announce-joint-venture-for-rooftop-solar-in-china 148 https://blog.pickmysolar.com/apples-new-campus-country-largest-solar-commercial-project 149 https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/ugc/articles/2017/02/28/new-apple-headquarters-sets-records-in-solar-and-
green-building.html 150 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/los-angeles-completes-16.4mw-rooftop-project 151 http://www.uni-solar.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/Corporate_Overview_Brochure.pdf
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 29
Whirlpool Distribution Centre, 10 MW, U.S.
This 10 MW rooftop system in Perris, California, was completed in 2012 at a DEXUS Property
Group 40 acre distribution centre leased by Whirlpool Corp. Southern California Edison
leased the rooftop for 20 years and as of 2014 had 84 MW of rooftop solar across 23
rooftops. This is understood to be the second-largest operating rooftop solar project in the
U.S.152 153
Amazon Carteret Warehouse Solar, 8 MW, U.S.
Sol System commissioned a 7.5 MW rooftop solar system at Amazon’s Carteret Warehouse
in New Jersey in August 2017. It includes 22,000 Hanwha Q-Cell solar modules and is
owned by IGS. In May 2017, Amazon announced that it would install up to 41 MW of solar
on 15 fulfilment centres by the end of the year.154
Sydney Markets Rooftop Solar, 3 MW, Australia
This Sydney rooftop project is a collection of units, of which the last 2.2 MW were
commissioned in March 2018 by Autonomous Energy at a cost of A$8.9m (US$7m).
Previous phases included a 640 kW solar car park and a 270 kW existing rooftop system.155
Estimates put the expansion capacity at up to an additional 4 MW. This is currently the
largest rooftop array in Australia
February 2018 the South Australian Produce Market in Adelaide announced plans to install
a A$10.5m hybrid system including 2.5 MW of rooftop solar, a 4.2 MWh Tesla battery
storage unit and a 2.5 MW onsite back-up diesel generator.156
Tesla Gigafactory, 70 MW, U.S.
Tesla157 has started construction on a 70 MW rooftop solar array at its US$5bn lithium ion
battery Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada. When complete, this will be by far the world’s
largest rooftop system.158
Tesla Rooftop Virtual Plant, 125 MW, Australia
In February 2018, the South Australian state government announced a landmark “virtual
power plant” (VPP) linking household rooftop solar and Tesla Powerwall battery storage
systems. With three proposed stages, the project will begin with a trial including 1,100
Housing Trust properties, which will have 5 kW solar and 13.5 kWh storage systems installed
at no cost, funded by the state government’s Renewable Technologies Fund. An initial
A$2m grant is to be followed with a A$30m government loan. Phase 2 is proposed to
involve 24,000 Housing Trust houses, with 25,000 houses in Phase 3, bringing the size of the
A$800m project to more than 50,000 houses generating 250 MW of rooftop solar. Estimates
show that tenants and homeowners would see a 30% reduction in electricity costs. The
650 MWh of combined battery storage would also improve grid stability and provide
demand management opportunities.159
The Tesla project will build on AGL Energy’s 5 MW South Australian pilot VPP supported
financially by ARENA using a SolarEdge inverter linked with an LG Chem Resu battery, or a
152 https://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/highpenforum2013_1_12.sce.pdf 153 http://www.cityofperris.org/news/2011_stories/09-19-11_solarpanels.html 154 https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2017/08/31/amazon-puts-online-new-jerseys-largest-rooftop-solar-installation/ 155 https://reneweconomy.com.au/sydney-markets-takes-rooftop-solar-massive-3mw-maybe-come-15096/ 156 https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/states-biggest-solar-battery-storage-microgid-power-sa-produce-markets/ 157 https://electrek.co/2017/01/10/tesla-gigafactory-1-model-3-battery-pack-rooftop-solar/ 158 http://www.notey.com/@electrek_unofficial/external/20041197/tesla-finally-starts-installing-its-massive-‘world’s-
largest-solar-rooftop-array’-at-gigafactory-1.html 159 https://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-to-build-250mw-virtual-power-plant-in-south-australia-44339/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 30
Tesla Powerwall 2 battery with an integrated inverter with the aim of covering 1,000
houses by the end of 2018.160
Azure Indian Railways Rooftop PV Project, 66 MW, India
The Azure project is neither a single rooftop nor a single campus or shipyard of associated
rooftops, but we have included it here because it focuses on the rooftops of one
company, Indian Railways, the largest railway network operator in Asia. The project,
launched in March 2017 and then expanded by a third in September 2017 to involve 66
MW of rooftop solar, ultimately could include all 8,000 stations in 17 states and union
territories where the company does business. Azure Roof Power will provide power for 25
years at a tariff range of US$60-70/MWh based on location.161 Indian Railways has
committed to a 5 GW solar target across its national portfolio, incorporating both rooftop
and utility-scale projects, including leveraging existing land holdings alongside the railway
routes. Indian Railways uses 2% of all electricity consumed in India and is aiming to reduce
its electricity procurement costs by 50-70%.162
Microsoft Data Centres Rooftop Plant, 60 MW, Singapore
In March 2018, Microsoft Singapore Data Centres contracted with Sunseap of Singapore
to set up a rooftop solar portfolio of 60 MW under a 20-year PPA. While this is a single
project, the contract involves hundreds of rooftops across Singapore. Microsoft is now on
track to exceed its goal of powering 50% of its global data centre load with renewable
energy by the end of 2018.163
Microgrid Rooftop Solar Project, 20 MW, Zimbabwe
The US$28m, 20 MW Zimbabwe Microgrid Rooftop Solar Project is being developed by
Oxygen Energy and involves buildings owned by Old Mutual Property Group Zimbabwe.
The project’s goal is to end near-daily blackouts and replace 12 million litres of imported
diesel annually. In May 2017, the African Development Bank (AfDB)-managed Sustainable
Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) made a US$1m grant to Zimbabwean investment company
Oxygen Energy for the preparation of a business plan for this project.164 The project has
received support from the Ministry of Energy & Power Development and is looking to work
with Jabil Inc. USA and Soventix GMBH Germany for EPC services.165
160 https://www.agl.com.au/about-agl/media-centre/asx-and-media-releases/2018/march/agl-upgrades-vpp-with-latest-
technology-from-tesla-solaredge-and-lg-chem 161 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/azure-roof-power-to-develop-20mw-rooftop-pv-portfolio-for-indian-railways 162 https://mercomindia.com/railways-to-tender-5gw-solar/ 163 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/microsofts-singapore-data-centres-to-be-powered-by-60mw-sunseap-rooftop-sol 164 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/05/08/african-development-bank-supports-20-mw-off-grid-solar-project-in-
zimbabwe/ 165 https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/12/21/meet-the-32-year-old-entrepreneur-who-is-building-
zimbabwes-largest-solar-company/#45af389563f7
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 31
5. Solar PV With Storage
This section looks at some of the largest projects incorporating solar and battery storage.
The world’s largest lithium-ion battery facility to date is the Tesla-Neoen Hornsdale Power
Reserve facility of 100 MW/129 MWh in South Australia, commissioned in December
2017.166 However, this facility has no associated solar, and neither does the 150-MW
lithium-ion facility proposed in South Korea by Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co.,
scheduled for commissioning in the first half of 2018.167
But the development of battery storage with renewables is becoming increasingly
standard as variable renewable energy takes an ever greater share of electricity
generation.168
A 2018 report by a research firm IHS Markit found that the total pipeline of announced
energy storage projects globally has reached 10.4 GW at the end of Q1 2018 from 7.5 GW
at the end of 2017. Of this, 40% of this total capacity pipeline is to be co-located with solar
projects as a key step to helping address the intermittency of solar power, and maximise
its’ value in the electricity generation sector.
Similar to the advantages achieved by combining floating solar with pumped hydro
storage, renewable energy projects can be enhanced by pairing them with batteries.
Among the benefits of such projects is the resulting ability to time-shift solar supply into
more valuable peak demand periods, increase behind-the-meter self-consumption (also
known as self-supply, a strategy that allows for on-site storage of solar generation) reduce
curtailment losses, reduce transmission congestion and enhance grid stability.
In stark contrast to the rest of Australia’s energy policy chaos, Energy Minister Josh
Frydenberg clearly endorses solar with storage as a value-enhancing proposition,
stating:169
“They will not only allow currently unused renewable energy to be stored instead of
wasted, but also inject electricity into the grid at times of peak demand in an area
known for transmission congestion. Together, they will help lower power prices and
stabilise the grid.”
Figure 5.1 below lists 15 of the largest solar-with-storage infrastructure investment projects
globally either in operation or under development.
166 http://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-big-battery-goes-full-discharge-100mw-first-time-37826/ 167 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-30/musk-s-battery-boast-will-be-short-lived-as-rivals-go-bigger 168 https://www.energy-storage.news/news/ihs-markit-40-of-energy-storage-pipeline-is-co-located-with-solar-
pv#.WtltLU0v78E.twitter 169 http://www.joshfrydenberg.com.au/guest/mediaReleasesDetails.aspx?id=541
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 32
Figure 5.1: Sixteen of the World’s Largest Solar-With-Storage Projects
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
An example of the potential of linking variable renewables and storage is evident in the
partnership between Bay State Wind (a joint U.S. venture of Ørsted of Denmark and New
England-based Eversource) and NEC Energy Solutions to incorporate 55 MW/110 MWh of
storage in the 800 MW offshore wind farm under development off Martha’s Vineyard, a
project announced in March 2018.170 This strategy suggests a key way forward in
balancing demand and supply, providing grid stability and frequency control, and
maximising value by enabling delivery during peak electricity demand periods.
An important driver of this trend is the massive deflation evident in battery costs, with total
lithium-ion battery pack prices falling by more than 20% in 2017 and a similar rate of
decline expected for 2018. BNEF’s price forecast to 2030 is illustrated in Figure 5.2 below.
Figure 5.2: BNEF Forecasts Lithium Ion Battery Price Deflation Still to Come
Note: Prices starting in 2018 are forecasts.
Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance
170 https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/is-offshore-wind-a-better-deal-with-batteries#gs.s6Kc2I4
No Project Name
Solar
Size
(MW)
Battery
Size
(MW)
Storage
(MWh)Status Country Proponent
1 KIUC's Tesla solar with storage project 13.0 13.0 52.0 Operational Hawaii KIUC & Tesla
2 FPL Citurs Solar Energy Centre with Storage 74.0 4.0 16.0 Operational USA Florida Power & Light Co
3 Clayhill Solar and Storage Project 10.0 6.0 - Operational England Anesco
4 Lakeland Solar and Storage Project,
Cooktown, Qld
10.8 1.4 5.3 Operational Australia Conergy
5 Akuo Olmo 1 Corsica Solar Storage Project 9.0 - 9.0 Operational France Akuo Energy
6 Genex Power Kidston stage 1 & 2, Australia 320.0 250.0 2,000.0 Partly Operational Australia Genex Power
7 AES Kauai Solar Energy Storage Project 28.0 20.0 100.0 Under Construction USA AES Distributed Energy
8 KIUC's AES Corp solar with storage project 28.0 20.0 100.0 Under Construction Hawaii KIUC & AES Corp
9 Simec Zen Energy South Australia 200.0 120.0 - Announced Australia Simec Zen Energy GFG Alliance
10 NextEra Energy (FLP) Tuscon Solar plus
Storage Project
100.0 30.0 120.0 Announced USA NextEra Energy
11 Carnegie Western Australia Solar Plant with
Storage
100.0 - 20.0 Announced Australia Carnegie Energy
12 First Solar Arizona Solar plus Storage Project 65.0 50.0 - Announced USA First Solar
13 Tesla's Battery Storage Gannawarra Solar
Farm
60.0 25.0 50.0 Announced Australia Tesla
14 Tilt Renewables Snowtown South Australia 44.0 21.0 26.0 Announced Australia Tilt Renewables
15 NLC Andaman & Nicobar Islands Solar Plus
Storage
20.0 - 16.0 Announced India To be Announced
16 KIUC & US Navy's AES Corp solar with storage
project
19.3 19.3 70.0 Announced Hawaii KIUC, US Navy & AES Corp
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 33
Germany’s Behind-the-Meter Storage Market: 385 MW in 2018
The German behind-the-meter storage market is the most developed globally. GTM
estimates German residential battery installs will reach 385 MW in 2018, driven by volume
growth of 38% year on year.171
Saudi Arabia’s 200 GW Solar Plan
A key characteristic of the Saudi Arabi’s aggressive solar development plans (refer
Section 1.1) is the proposal for “the largest utility-scale battery” to provide evening
power.172 The project will be funded from Softbank’s US$100bn Vision Fund, which counts
the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund as its largest investor. If successful, it would enable Saudi
Arabia to replace oil-fired power generation, which in turn frees up oil for export. Given
the size of the project, it could also create zero-emissions electricity export opportunities,
but that would depend on the construction of transmission infrastructure and / or the
successful commercialisation of hydrogen or ammonia storage capacity.173
Australian 9 GW Wind-Solar-Storage-Interconnect Hybrid
In November 2017 CWP Renewables announced plans to develop a hybrid clean energy
export hub in the north-west of Western Australia that is paradigm-shifting for the Asian
region if they can be implemented. CWP has announced a grand plan to ultimately build
6 GW of wind and 3 GW of solar to produce 33 TWh annually.174 One-third of production is
targeted for sale to the remote, micro-grid mining industry and processing sector, with
two-thirds of generation aimed for export to Indonesia via a proposed 2,500 km subsea
cable and exported to markets like Japan after being stored in ammonia and/or
hydrogen. CWP’s Asian Renewable Energy Hub has identified 7,000 square kilometres of
government controlled land in the East Pilbara region. CWP is working with and has the
support the traditional owners, the Nyangumarta people. Financial close is targeted for
2021 and financial support from the North Australia Infrastructure Fund is being sought.175
While this A$20bn proposal is beyond ambitious and full of political, regulatory,
engineering and financial challenges, ultimately like the 200 GW Saudi Arabian MoU, it
illustrates the absolute scale of technology driven transformation evident, and illustrates
the enormous opportunities and changes that in our view will inevitably challenge and
even progressively destroy incumbent industries and conventional thinking.
Australian Residential Solar-With-Storage
Australia installed a record 1.1 GW of residential rooftop solar in 2017, with this trend
accelerating; cumulative installs reached 7 GW in May 2018, the highest penetration per
capita globally. The ongoing double-digit annual deflation of solar costs has seen
Australian installed costs decline 80% from US$6.40/w in 2010 to US$1.40/w in 2017.
Distributed behind-the-meter residential battery storage is a major new growth market,
with installations doubling each year in the last three years. Major storage competitors
vying for this market include Tesla, BYD and Sonnen.176
171 https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/german-energy-storage-sector-employs-half-number-people-as-
lignite#gs.=6Jg9A0 172 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-29/batteries-included-even-the-huge-saudi-solar-farm-will-use-
them 173 http://reneweconomy.com.au/thats-not-solar-farm-solar-farm-51282/ 174 http://asianrehub.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/AREH-Media-Release-1-May-2018-web.pdf 175 https://reneweconomy.com.au/pilbara-renewables-hub-adds-3gw-wind-and-solar-to-20bn-plan-86697/ 176 http://www.afr.com/business/energy/solar-energy/warren-buffetts-chinese-battery-giant-byd-to-take-on-tesla-in-
australia-20180321-h0xszp#ixzz5AWv7xX59
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 34
Hawaii’s KIUC Solar-With-Storage-Projects, U.S.
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) has pursued solar-plus-storage projects
aggressively over the past several years to comply with the Hawaii state target of having
renewables supply all the islands’ electricity by 2045. The first project came online in
March 2017; it includes 13 MW of solar and a 13 MW/52 MWh Tesla Powerpack battery
storage facility. The 20-year PPA for the facility, signed in 2015, is at US$139/MWh — less
than the US$150/MWh average cost of oil-fired generation in 2016.177
Construction on the cooperative’s second project began in February 2018. This facility,
being built by AES Distributed Energy, includes a 28 MW solar array and a 20 MW/100 MWh
battery system.178 The PPA was signed in January 2017 at US$110/MWh, a 20% drop in the
price in just two years and 35% below the prevailing cost of oil-fired power generation.179
Finally, the cooperative agreed to a third project in December 2017, also to be
developed by AES Distributed Energy. This project, 19.3 MW of solar with 70 MWh of
battery storage, will be built at the Pacific Missile Range Facility – Barking Sands (PMRF) in
cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Navy.180 The 25-year PPA is for US$109/MWh.
FPL Citrus Solar Energy Centre with Storage, U.S.
A NextEra Energy utility subsidiary, Florida Power & Light (FPL), in 2016 developed the Citrus
Solar Energy Center in Florida’s DeSoto County with 74.5 MWh of solar and in February
2018 announced it had added 4 MW/16 MWh of storage. As of February 2018, NextEra
Energy operates 130 MW of batteries with more than 100 MWh of storage capacity.181
Clayhill Solar and Storage Project, England
September 2017 saw the commissioning in England of a 10 MW solar plus 6 MW battery
storage project near Flitwick, built by Anesco without any government subsidy support.182
The project uses BYD solar modules and Huawei string inverters. Three earlier Anesco solar
farms located in Northampton, Chesterfield and Stratford-upon-Avon were each 5 MW in
size and supported by a 1.1 MWh battery. Anesco is expecting to install 380 MW of new
storage capacity in the UK by 2020.183
Lakeland Solar and Storage Project, Australia
The Lakeland Solar and Storage Project in Cooktown in far north Queensland is a 10.8 MW
solar facility combined with 1.4 MW / 5.3 MWh of battery storage. Australia’s first large
scale hybrid system, the project was sponsored by BHP Billiton and developed by
Germany’s Conergy, assisted by funding from Germany’s Nord LB. The remote Lakeland
end-of-grid project was announced in 2016 and commissioned in February 2018 at a total
project cost of A$42m (US$32m), aimed at providing electricity for BHP’s copper project.
177 https://www.utilitydive.com/news/teslas-dispatchable-solarstorage-project-in-hawaii-brought-online/437858/ 178 http://aesdistributedenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/AES_KIUC-Groundbreaking-Announcement_02-22-
2018.pdf 179 https://www.utilitydive.com/news/hawaii-co-op-signs-deal-for-solarstorage-project-at-11kwh/433744/ 180 http://aesdistributedenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/AES-Distrubuted-Energy-selected-by-KIUC-and-PMRF-
for-Solar-PV-Plus-Storage-Project.pdf 181 http://newsroom.nexteraenergy.com/2018-02-09-FPL-unveils-first-solar-plus-storage-system-in-the-U-S-that-can-
increase-solar-power-plant-output 182 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/09/26/anesco-formally-opens-uks-first-subsidy-free-solar-farm-complete-with-
storage/ 183 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/05/14/anesco-to-deploy-380-mw-of-storage-by-
2020/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 35
This project was supported by a A$17m ARENA grant and is underpinned by a PPA with
Origin Energy; it clearly demonstrates the commercial-scale scope for solar plus storage
deployment in remote communities and off-grid mining sites. Conergy intends to add
another 20MW of solar in a stage 2 development, which is set for completion in 2019.184
This area of Queensland is also the site for the proposed A$160m (US$135m), 60MW
Kennedy Energy Park, a hybrid model involving 42 MW of wind, 15 MW solar and 2 MW of
lithium-ion battery storage. Located 300 km inland, it is being developed by a joint
venture between ASX-listed Windlabs and Eurus Energy.
Akuo Bardzour Solar Storage Project, France
This project on France’s Reunion island includes a 9 MW solar project and a 9 MWh lithium-
ion battery system and has been operational since 2014.185 Akuo Energy has four island
projects with 29 MW of solar capacity coupled with 29 MWh of batteries in operation.
Genex Power’s Kidston Solar Power, Australia
Genex Power has built a A$115m 50 MW AC solar PV project in far north Queensland that
has been progressively commissioned since December 2017. Its capacity factor during
the first four months of operation was over 33%, a world-beating mark made possible by
brilliant solar radiation coupled with single-axis trackers, First Solar Series 4 modules,
trackers by NEXTracker and SMA inverters. The project is underwritten by a 20-year PPA
with the Queensland government.186
Genex is now developing phase II at the site, a A$420m (US$300m) project that will add
270 MW of solar and an associated 250 MW of pumped hydro with 8 hours of storage.
In April 2018, Genex disclosed it is considering a pumped hydro-solar-wind phase III
involving adding 150 MW of wind in a strategy aimed at best-utilisation of grid
infrastructure by running close to 24x7 (building a new 275kV transmission line connection
is a prerequisite to financial close on phase II).187
One key feature of this project is that it is built on the tailings dams and unrehabilitated
overburden wastelands left at the site of Australia’s largest gold mine operation. The grid
infrastructure built decades ago to supply mine electricity is being repurposed to take
electricity for delivery into the grid in peak demand periods.188
AES SCE Energy Storage Project, U.S.
AES has been contracted to build a 100 MW/400 MWh battery storage installation in
California under a 20 year PPA with Southern California Edison. It is designed to replace
aging and increasingly expensive gas generators in that state. John Zahurancik, president
of AES Energy Storage, expects to see the market for grid-scale battery storage reach
28GW by 2022 (from 3 GW in 2016), and estimates costs have fallen 90% since AES first entered the market a decade ago, concluding that:189
“Battery storage is becoming a solution because of its flexibility, the ease of
permitting, and its scaleability, and because it can be deployed very rapidly.”
184 http://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-first-large-scale-solar-storage-plant-connected-to-grid-69396/ 185 http://www.akuoenergy.com/en/bardzour 186 http://reneweconomy.com.au/kidston-solar-farm-lays-case-going-merchant-84317/ 187 http://www.afr.com/news/politics/genex-adds-wind-project-to-its-kidston-renewables-hub-in-north-queensland-
20180405-h0ycvp 188 http://www.genexpower.com.au/250mw-kidston-pumped-storage-hydro-project.html 189 http://reneweconomy.com.au/aes-siemens-combine-to-tackle-tesla-dominate-battery-storage-market-38413/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 36
SIMEC Zen Energy’s Whyalla Steelworks Solar Project, Australia
Sanjeev Gupta’s SIMEC Zen Energy in March 2018 proposed adding a 200 MW solar PV
array, a 120 MW storage battery, and a cogeneration unit to reuse waste heat at the
Whyalla Steelworks in South Australia, which Gupta recently acquired.190 191 Assisted by a
A$10m state government grant, this is an upgraded target relative to an October 2017
plan to install a 100 MW/100 MWh battery storage unit to reduce energy costs at the steel
mill by 40%. In September 2017, Gupta acquired a 50.1% stake in South Australia’s Zen
Energy storage business.192
Gupta also has proposed building a 120 MW/600 MWh pumped hydro storage facility at a
disused iron ore mine pit in the Middleback Ranges that used to serve the steelworks,193
but with the recent change in state government, that plan may be put on hold.
NextEra Energy Tucson Solar Plus Storage Project, U.S.
Announced in May 2017, NextEra Energy’s Tucson project is a 100 MW solar project linked
with a 30 MW/120 MWh battery storage system. The PPA signed by Arizona utility Tuscan
Electric Power is priced at a new U.S. record low of below US$30/MWh for the solar and
below US$45/MWh including the storage capacity.194 195 Commissioning is due in 2019.
Carnegie Solar Plant with Storage, Australia
Carnegie Clean Energy announced plans in February 2018 to build a 100 MW solar plant
with 20 MWh of storage at a site in Western Australia next to the Mungari Strategic
Industrial Area near Kalgoorlie, an isolated, end-of-grid location requiring increased
generation capacity to support mining activity in the area.196
In March 2018, Carnegie Clean Energy announced a second project, this one including
10 MW solar and 10 MWh of battery storage, for Western Australia.197
In April 2018, ABB of Switzerland announced it was installing a 30 MWh battery storage
system at a remote off-grid site supplying electricity for iron ore mining in the Pilbara in
Western Australia. The current gas power plant is backed up by expensive imported diesel
generators, and this microgrid development paves the way for a follow-on solar
development, highlighting the rate of change in the very traditional mind-set of the
Australian mining sector.198
While unrelated to Carnegie, this builds on the 2016 commissioning of the A$40m off-grid
pilot project at the DeGrussa copper-gold mine in Western Australia owned by Sandfire
Resources. This project, including 10.6 MW of solar and a 6 MW/1.8 MWh battery storage
190 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-16/metal-tycoon-to-leapfrog-elon-musk-with-world-s-biggest-
battery 191 http://www.afr.com/business/energy/sanjeev-gupta-to-beat-teslas-elon-musk-with-bigger-battery-in-south-australia-
20180315-h0xjgb?btis 192 http://www.afr.com/business/energy/british-billionaire-sanjeev-gupta-buys-majority-stake-in-zen-energy-20170919-
gykvgf 193 http://reneweconomy.com.au/whyalla-steel-city-goes-green-with-1gw-of-solar-and-storage-92904/ 194 https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/todays-top-solar-developers-have-become-storage-developers-
too#gs.7gOVKMI 195 https://www.tep.com/news/tep-to-power-21000-homes-with-new-solar-array-for-historically-low-price/ 196 https://reneweconomy.com.au/carnegie-proposes-100mw-solar-20mwh-battery-near-kalgoorlie-49643/ 197 https://reneweconomy.com.au/carnegie-eyes-another-10mw-solar-battery-project-w-15491/ 198 https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2018/04/18/abb-supplies-30-mwh-battery-microgrid-to-the-pilbara/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 37
unit, was designed to reduce the use of expensive imported diesel power by 5 million litres
annually, with funding assistance by ARENA.199
First Solar’s Solar Plus Storage Project, U.S.
In February 2018, First Solar was awarded a contract to build and operate a 65 MW solar
project supported by three utility-scale batteries totalling 50 MW from Arizona Public
Service, the state’s largest utility.200 APS has signed a 15-year PPA to buy electricity from
the project. The 50 MW battery storage facility will provide a clean energy solution for
peak demand during hot summer days. APS has plans to add more than 500 MW of solar
with storage.
Tesla Battery Storage at the Gannawarra Solar Farm, Australia
Tesla has been contracted to supply a 25 MW/50 MWh battery storage facility adjacent
to the existing 60 MW Gannawarra Solar Farm in Kerang, Victoria.201 202 The project is
owned by Edify Energy and Wirsol Energy; it will be operated by EnergyAustralia under a
long-term PPA. Completion is due before the end of 2018. This is the third major Tesla
battery project in Australia. Tesla’s absolutely transformative Hornsdale Power Reserve in
South Australia began commercial operations in December 2017 and has been
enormously profitable since,203 and it is now working with Neoen of France to build a 20
MW/34 MWh project next to the 194 MW Bulgana wind farm at Horsham, Victoria.204
A second battery with 30 MW/30 MWh of capacity is to be built nearby at Ballarat by
Fluence (a joint venture between Siemens and AES Energy Storage 205) on behalf of the
local grid operator AusNet, albeit with no associated solar development. These two
projects are being supported by A$50m of funding from ARENA and the Victorian state
government to address significant grid congestion problems in the area.
ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said:206
”Battery storage will play a crucial role in the future energy mix, alongside other
forms of storage and in conjunction with variable renewables and demand
management.”
Tesla commissioned a 18 MW battery storage system in Belgium in May 2018, to be
subsequently linked in with two proposed solar projects (one of which is floating solar),
showing how rapidly this grid stabilisation service technology is being integrated and
scaled up globally.207
Tilt Renewables Snowtown Solar with Storage Project, Australia
In February 2018, Tilt Renewables announced a A$90m (US$70m) project in Snowtown,
South Australia, that will include 44 MW of solar and a 21 MW/26 MWh battery system. It
will be near an associated 370 MW wind farm development. Tilt Renewables has also
199 https://arena.gov.au/projects/degrussa-solar-project/ 200 https://www.aps.com/en/ourcompany/news/latestnews/Pages/aps-first-solar-partner-on-arizonas-largest-battery-
storage-project.aspx 201 http://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-fluence-to-build-two-big-batteries-in-victoria-88655/ 202 https://reneweconomy.com.au/victorias-biggest-solar-farm-connected-to-grid-now-for-new-tesla-battery-80621/ 203 https://reneweconomy.com.au/the-stunning-numbers-behind-success-of-tesla-big-battery-63917/ 204 http://reneweconomy.com.au/neoen-starts-work-on-next-tesla-big-battery-project-in-victoria-28218/ 205 http://reneweconomy.com.au/aes-siemens-combine-to-tackle-tesla-dominate-battery-storage-market-38413/ 206 https://arena.gov.au/news/arena-provide-25-million-jointly-fund-victorias-first-large-scale-grid-connected-batteries/ 207 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/05/14/from-black-to-green-in-flanders/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 38
announced plans for a 300 MW/1,350 MWh pumped hydro energy storage project to be
constructed in the disused Highbury quarry near Adelaide.208
NLC Andaman & Nicobar Islands Solar Plus Storage, India
In April 2018, Indian solar EPC firm Mahindra Susten again offered the lowest bid for a solar
and energy storage project, this time in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, bidding a
price of Rs1.33bn (US$20m). The project, tendered by NLC India, the state-run mining and
power firm, will include 20 MW of solar and 8 MWh of storage.209 The pricing is half that bid
last year, reflecting a far lower battery storage component (8 MWh vs 28 MWh previously).
The viability and suitability of solar and storage on the Andaman Islands is clear, since the
local government currently has to import diesel from 1,200 km away and burn it in
inefficient generators to generate electricity. In March 2018, India Energy Minister R.K.
Singh called for battery manufacturers to consider establishing operations in India,
stressing that future solar and wind tenders will likely include battery storage.210 Praveer
Sinha, the newly appointed Managing Director of Tata Power, India’s largest renewable
energy infrastructure owner, in May 2018 highlighted the critical role battery storage will
play in enabling India’s aggressive solar deployment plans.211
208 http://reneweconomy.com.au/south-australia-unveils-another-big-battery-this-time-with-solar-16727/ 209 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/mahindra-wins-again-in-andaman-solar-storage-retender 210 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/indian-power-minister-appeals-to-battery-manufacturers-with-solar-wind-
stor#.WrixwQuFeLk.twitter 211 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/energy-speak/the-future-of-renewable-energy-in-india/3016
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 39
6. Corporate PPAs
Corporations signed long-term agreements for a record 5.4 GW of clean energy capacity
globally in 2017, up from 4.3 GW in 2016 (estimates from BNEF, detailed in Figure 6.1). That
is enough to displace 10 coal-fired power plants212 and provides US$5-10 bn of high credit-
rating backing for new renewable energy projects.
In addition, as major corporations sign on to such deals, they continue to look to “green”
their entire supply chains, many of which sit in emerging markets. This activity helps
expand access to capital in markets, which is often a key constraint.
Figure 6.1: Global Renewable Energy PPAs Signed by Corporates FY2008-FY2017
Source: BNEF Corporate PPA Deal Tracker, January 2018
Figure 6.2: Renewable Energy Sourced by Corporates by November 2016
Source: BNEF, Google December 2016 Sustainability Report213
212 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-04/google-bought-enough-clean-power-for-whole-company-and-
then-some 213 https://environment.google/projects/announcement-100/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 40
Figure 6.2 above shows the largest corporate procurements of renewable energy globally
as of November 2016, while also detailing the split between wind and solar generation.
Internet companies with their enormous data centre energy requirements top the list
along with the U.S. Department of Defence.
Figure 6.3 details a number of the largest solar PPA contracts announced globally. We
include a cross-section, illustrating the expanding interest of corporations in these deals.
Figure 6.3: Global Solar Energy PPAs Signed by Corporates
Source: Company & Press reports, IEEFA estimates
Alphabet Inc’s Google
Google estimates that it used 7 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity to run its global
operations in 2017 (up from 5.7 TWh in 2015), and it is now set to source 100% of that
demand from clean energy once new projects committed to in 2017 come online.
Google signed agreements for 3 GW of renewable projects over 2017, making it by far the
largest corporate buyer of renewable energy certificates and sponsor of zero-emissions
corporate PPAs. 214 One example is the 10-year PPA it signed with Eneco of Netherlands for
the 30 MW Sunport solar project at Delfzijil (reported as the largest in the Netherlands). This
project will supply Google’s recently opened Eemshaven data centre, serving the
company’s desire for proximity and additionality.215 Other solar facilities associated with
Google PPAs are a 61 MW plant in the U.S. (with Duke Energy in North Carolina) and the
80 MW El Romero facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert (signed with Acciona Energia).
Google operates 15 data centres. Estimates show that its U.S. facilities account for 3% of
the nation’s annual electricity consumption.216 Google is reported to have invested more
than US$3.5bn in renewable energy globally in its move to 100% clean energy.217
The company has a clear strategy to green its image and is committed to being carbon
neutral, but the deals also make good business sense. Google reports cost reductions of
between 60-80% since it moved to direct purchasing of renewables.218 while having a
focus on energy productivity has driven Google’s data centres to use 50% less electricity
than the industry average (on Google’s own reported estimate).219
214 https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/12/6/16734228/google-renewable-energy-wind-solar-2017 215 http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/content-tracks/power-cooling/google-signs-10-year-ppa-with-netherlands-
largest-solar-farm/98606.fullarticle 216 https://www.energy.gov/videos/energy-101-energy-efficient-data-centers 217 https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-environment.appspot.com/pdf/google-2017-environmental-report.pdf 218 https://electrek.co/2017/11/30/google-is-officially-100-sun-and-wind-powered-3-0-gigawatts-worth/ 219 https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.com/en//green/pdf/achieving-100-renewable-energy-
purchasing-goal.pdf
No Project Name Size (MW) Country Developer
1 Microsoft Virginia Data Centre 315.0 USA sPower
2 Apple Nevada Data Centre 200.0 USA NV Energy
3 Airport Authority of India 200.0 India To be Tendered
4 Sun Metal 125.0 Australia Sun Metal
5 Shell UK 69.8 UK Brit ish Solar Renewables
6 Microsoft Singapore 60.0 Singapore Sunseap
7 University of New South Wales 124 GWh Australia Maoneng & Origin Energy
8 Carlton & United Breweries 74 GWh Australia BayWa r.e.
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 41
Amazon
Amazon Web Services (AWS) planned to add 180 MW of solar in Virginia by the end of
2017 as part of the company’s move toward powering its AWS Cloud with 100%
renewable energy.220 Amazon’s preference for renewables can be seen also in its signing
of a PPA In October 2017 for 228 MW of wind in Texas—its largest PPA to date.221 The
company says it now has 18 wind and solar projects across the U.S., with 35 more projects
in the pipeline.
Microsoft
Microsoft received regulatory approval in July 2017 to buy power directly to cover 25% of
the electricity used at its corporate headquarters in Redmond, Wash., instead of relying
on Puget Sound Energy, its local utility. The deal, which included a transmission fee, will
enable Microsoft to buy green power. In March 2018, Microsoft announced a deal with
AES Power to buy 315 MW from solar projects in Virginia to supply its data centres and
offices there. This deal could be the largest single solar corporate PPA to date.222
Microsoft announced its first clean energy deal in Asia in March 2018, a 60 MW rooftop
solar portfolio investment to be implemented by Sunseap and backed by a 20-year
Microsoft PPA (see Section 4). Microsoft aims to exceed its goal of powering 50% of its
global data centre load with renewable energy in 2018. Once operational, the new
Singapore solar project will bring Microsoft’s total global direct procurement in renewable
energy projects to 860 MW.223
Apple
Apple now has retail stores, offices and data centres in 43 countries running on clean
energy, with a total investment to date of US$2.5bn in both energy efficiency and 25
renewable energy plants worldwide, with another 15 more now being built.
Apple is urging its suppliers to follow its lead. Apple said in April 2018 that nine additional
manufacturing partners had agreed to power all their Apple production facilities with
clean power.224 Including its suppliers, Apple currently owns, operates or buys 1.1 GW of
clean energy capacity (46% solar, 48% wind, 5% biomass). The company also has 1.9 GW
of clean energy projects in development. In April 2018 Apple announced it had reached
its commitment to use 100% renewable power as part of the RE100 campaign.
Apple has funded much of its renewable energy work through green bonds. Its first green
bond offering in 2016 raised US$1.5bn; a second in June 2017 raised another US$1 billion.225
Apple’s renewable investment efforts began in 2011 when it self-funded its first solar
project, a 20 MW facility in North Carolina.
Apple’s new corporate headquarters includes the largest U.S. rooftop solar project, at 17
MW (see Section 4). Despite rapid growth in energy demand, Apple estimates it has
halved its direct emissions since 2011 (see Figure 6.4 below).
220 https://www.pv-tech.org/news/amazon-adds-180mw-to-renewable-portfolio-in-five-solar-projects-across-virg 221 https://www.windpowermonthly.com/article/1447901/amazon-texas-project-goes-online 222 https://apnews.com/90fda017ad7e46a8b4bbea6226e03230/Microsoft-announces-major-solar-buy-in-Virginia 223 https://reneweconomy.com.au/microsoft-sunseap-sign-agreement-largest-ever-solar-project-singapore-65142/ 224 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-09/apple-s-entire-business-is-now-being-powered-with-clean-
energy 225 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-climate-greenbond/apple-issues-1-billion-green-bond-after-trumps-paris-
climate-exit-idUSKBN1941ZE
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 42
Figure 6.4: Apple’s Emissions – Scope 1 & 2, FY2011-FY2017
Source: Apple Environmental Sustainability Report 2018226
Airport Authority of India
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has announced that the Airport Authority of
India will undertake solar projects totalling 200 MW across all its sites in India, with a target
completion date of 2022/23. Projects totalling 90 MW are already operational. The three
projects detailed below illustrate how this investment program will be configured:
1. Cochin International Airport (CIAL) installed 13 MW of solar across 45 acres, on both
rooftops and unused land. The work was completed in 2015 by Bosch of
Germany.227 On completion, CIAL announced plans to double this to 26.5 MW.228
2. Kolkata international Airport in West Bengal commissioned a US$14m, 15 MW solar
system in December 2017. Sterling & Wilson served as lead EPC using modules
supplied by Waaree Energies, one of the largest solar manufacturers in India.229
3. Ahmedabad Airport in January 2018 announced plans for a 700-kW rooftop solar
system at a price of US$754/kW, making the system immediately cost effective.230
Sun Metals
The Korean Zinc miner is on the verge of commissioning a 125 MW solar plant to support
the electricity needs of its Townsville, Queensland refinery in May 2018.231 This is likely to be
Australia’s largest single site renewable energy consumer, at the same time, the plant will
be connected to the national grid and will sell excess electricity to the national market.
Sun Metals needs 900,000 MWh of electricity to produce 225,000 tonnes of zinc each year.
226 https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Responsibility_Report_2018.pdf 227 http://cial.aero/Pressroom/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=358&news_status=A 228 http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/cial-to-double-solar-energy-capacity/article7926145.ece 229 https://mercomindia.com/grid-connected-commissioned-kolkata-international-airport/ 230 https://mercomindia.com/rooftop-solar-ahmedabad-airport/ 231 https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-biggest-solar-farm-about-to-begin-commissioning-89615/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 43
Shell UK
Shell UK announced a five-year PPA in January 2018 with British Solar Renewables,
manager of the 69.8 MW Bradenstoke solar project (owned by Siem Europe SARL). Shell
had previously announced plans to invest US$1-2bn annually through 2020 in renewable
energy as part of a new corporate strategy.232
Shell followed this development in January 2018 by announcing the US$200m acquisition
of a 44% stake in Silicon Ranch, a solar developer based in the state of Tennessee with a
solar portfolio of 880 MW.233
University of NSW, Australia
The University of NSW (UNSW) signed a 15-year PPA in December 2017 to buy 124 GWh of
electricity annually from the Sunraysia Solar plant being built in Bairanald, NSW. The
A$275m, 250 MW project is expected to come online by the end of 2018. Maoneng
Australia is the project developer and Origin Energy is the energy utility. UNSW Vice
Chancellor Ian Jacobs said the agreement was part of the university’s goal to become
energy carbon neutral by 2020. This Australian first is appropriately being undertaken by
UNSW, which has a long history as a world leader in solar technology development under
the leadership of Professor Martin Green and the late Professor Stuart Wenham.234
Carlton & United Breweries, Australia
Carlton & United Breweries Australia (owned by the multinational AB InBev) has
contracted to acquire 74 GWh of electricity annually through a 12-year PPA with solar
developer BayWa r.e. The electricity will come from a new 112 MW solar project in
Mildura, Victoria. This is part of the brewer’s broader plan to move to 100% renewable
energy.235
232 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/01/18/uk-shell-signs-5-year-ppa-with-bsr-for-69-8-mw-solar-project-comment/ 233 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/01/16/shell-to-acquire-44-stake-in-solar-developer-silicon-ranch/ 234 https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/general/unsw-signs-world-first-solar-energy-agreement 235 http://www.afr.com/news/vb-maker-gets-greener-as-cub-plunges-into-solar-energy-20180319-
h0xpe5#ixzz5Ar7xq2Mc
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 44
7. Top Renewable Energy Utilities
Half of largest renewable energy investors globally are Chinese energy firms, consistent
with China as the driving force in low emissions energy sectors of the future. BNEF
estimates domestic China investment in 2017 represented 40% of the global clean energy
total. Additionally, IEEFA calculates that China is taking an ever-larger role in global clean
energy mergers and acquisition activity, with major transactions alone accounting for
over US44bn of Chinese outbound investment in 2017, up 35% year on year.236
Beyond China’s clear global leadership, European utilities are the other major group
dominating investment in renewable energy. Enel of Italy, Iberdrola of Spain, EDP of
Portugal, EDF and ENGIE of France and have been progressively building out renewable
energy infrastructure investments over the last decade, consistent with Europe’s global
leadership on the issue of the need for urgent, concerted global action to address energy
policy as a core cause of man-made climate change.
NextEra Energy U.S. is now the largest and most successful utility in North America, having
consistently delivered superior shareholder returns for the last 15 years via a strategy of
redeploying profits from its legacy thermal and nuclear power fleet into consistently
building some 2 GW annually of renewables, with an even more ambitious target to
deploy up to 4 GW annually through to 2022. With renewable energy now the low cost
source of electricity in America, NextEra’s foresight has been proven repeatedly. IEEFA’s
October 2017 report “Winners and Losers Among Big Utilities as Renewables Disrupt
Markets” provides more detail on this topic.237
Figure 7.1 details twelve of the largest renewable energy firms globally, selected for scale
and geographic diversity as well as our view of global renewable energy industry leaders.
Figure 7.1: Global Renewable Energy Leaders
Source: Company and press reports, IEEFA estimates
236 http://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-china-continues-position-global-clean-energy-dominance-2017/ 237 http://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-winners-losers-global-electricity-market-renewables-disrupt-markets-across-asia-europe-
u-s-africa/
Rank Utility Name Country
Total
capacity
installed by
the end of
FY2017 (MW)
Capacity
installed in
2017 (MW)
1 China Energy Investment Corp China 65.0 2.6
2 State Power Investment Corp Ltd China 44.3 3.6
3 Enel SpA Italy 40.9 2.1
4 Electricit ie De France (EDF) France 33.8 1.3
5 Iberdrola SA Spain 29.2 1.4
6 ENGIE France 26.8 2.2
7 China Datang Corp China 20.3 3.3
8 Brookfield Asset Management Canada 16.4 0.1
9 NextEra Energy Inc U.S. 14.1 2.7
10 China General Nuclear Power Corp China 13.3 1.3
11 Energias de Portugal (EDP) Portugal 11.0 0.6
12 Ørsted Denmark 8.9 1.5
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 45
The outlier for now on this list of global majors is Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), one
of the largest infrastructure investors globally. Canadian rather than Chinese, and an asset
management firm rather than a power utility.
IEEFA expects the global pension funds management sector to play a significantly larger
and more positive role in funding the US$2 trillion annual capital investment made in the
global energy sector. With the April 2018 vote by the Conservative Party of Norway
agreeing for the US$1 trillion Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund to consider diversifying
into unlisted renewable energy infrastructure.238 IEEFA’s Tom Sanzillo has written extensively
on this topic,239 as has Gerard Wynn.240
Macquarie Group in March 2018 highlighted renewable energy infrastructure is one of its
four global mega-themes.241 Blackrock’s Jim Barry, global head of Infrastructure in May
2017 stated clearly: “Coal is dead.”242 Likewise the October 2017 move by an asset
management consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to pay US$5bn for
Singapore based Equis Energy (an Asian renewable infrastructure investor), one of the
largest M&A deals globally to-date in the renewables sector.243 No surprise to see
Macquarie, Blackrock and GIP emerging alongside BAM as four of the largest global
renewable energy infrastructure investors outside of China.
China Energy Investment Corp (CEIC), China
China’s top coal miner Shenhua Group acquired China Guodian Group in August 2017 to
form world’s largest power utility named as CEIC that is worth US$278bn. The merged
entity boasts 65 GW of renewable energy with 33 GW of wind energy, out of which 27 GW
of wind that came to its portfolio from China Guodian Group.244 Shenhua Group was
China’s largest coal miner and produced 13% of China’s total coal in 2017. CEIC is
vertically integrated from mining coal through to producing electricity from thermal as
well as renewable energy generation capacity. The group operates railroads, ports,
seaborne shipments and produces chemicals from coal.
CEIC installed 2.63 GW of renewable capacity in 2017 according to BNEF. The acquisition
of Guodian Group will reduce the combined entity’s dependence on coal-fired power
generation. CEIC ranks number 1 in renewable energy capacity globally.
State Power Investment Corp (SPIC), China
SPIC ranks #2 in our global renewable leaders list with total installed capacity of 44.3 GW
renewable energy. SPIC was established in June 2015 through the merger of China Power
Investment Corporation and State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation. 43% of the
installed capacity of the nuclear giant comes from zero emissions energy sources
including its 4.8 GW nuclear portfolio. SPIC installed an impressive net 3.6 GW of
renewable energy in 2017. SPIC is committed to implementing the Chinese Government’s
policy of restructuring nuclear SOEs (state owned enterprises) to also take a lead in the
clean energy transition of China’s power sector.245
238 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-swf/norway-fund-should-be-able-to-invest-in-unlisted-renewables-ruling-
party-idUSKBN1HE0N7 239 http://ieefa.org/ieefa-norway-case-sovereign-wealth-fund-invest-global-renewable-energy-infrastructure/ 240 http://ieefa.org/uk-pension-funds-can-reap-growing-renewables-infrastructure-opportunity/ 241 http://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/macquaries-world-part-4-patience-pays-as-asia-transforms-
20180226-h0woop 242 http://www.afr.com/business/mining/coal/blackrock-says-coal-is-dead-as-it-eyes-renewable-power-splurge-20170524-
gwbuu6 243 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-25/global-infrastructure-acquires-equis-energy-in-5-billion-deal 244 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-power-shenhua-guodian-factbox-idUSKCN1B918I 245 http://eng.spic.com.cn/2016SiteEn/aboutSPIC/CompanyOverview/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 46
SPIC has a presence in 36 countries with 1.2 GW of overseas projects and 10 GW currently
under construction. SPIC aspires to reach installed capacity of 170 GW of total installed
capacity with 50% of it from clean energy technology totalling asset value of US$150bn.
Enel, Italy
The Italian power giant Enel had new renewable energy installs of 2.4 GW in 2017, taking
the total installed renewable energy capacity to 40.9 GW by year end.246 The utility
ranked #3 in IEEFA’s global renewable energy leaders is truly a transition leader, and the
utility had net decrease in thermal power capacity this fiscal year. Enel aims to channel its
80% incremental capex in mature economies in networks and renewable energy.247 It has
a massive 15 GW pipelined renewable capacity to be commissioned by FY2020.248
Électricité De France (EDF), France
French state-owned utility EDF is ranked #4 globally at the end of 2017. March 2018 saw
EDF commit to invest €8bn (US$9.9bn) between 2018 and 2035 to become the European
market leader in electricity storage.249 This builds on EDF’s commitment in December 2017
to invest €25bn to build 30 GW of solar capacity by 2035.250 The French utility installed 1.3
GW new capacity in 2017 taking its total renewable portfolio at 33.8 GW.
EDF has been a dominant force in making renewable energy economically competitive
with thermal power. EDF bid as low as US$17/MWh for a 300 MW solar project in Saudi
Arabia. The contract was eventually awarded to the second lowest bidder due to certain
technical intricacies involved in technology proposed by EDF.251
ENGIE, France
ENGIE is the second largest French electric utility and has installed renewable capacity of
26.8 GW as on end of 2017, including pumped hydro storage.252 The utility acknowledges
the need for energy sector transition towards more and more cleaner energy. ENGIE
installed 2.2 GW of renewable energy in the year 2017 and continues to invest in
prospects of energy efficiency, decentralised energy generation, microgrids and storage.
Iberdrola, Spain
The public multinational utility Iberdrola of Spain has a 29.2 GW renewable energy
portfolio as of March 2018 up by 1.4 GW since March 2017.253 The utility in its’ “2018-22
outlook” aims to invest in a smart grid project to make Spain 99% connected with smart
meters. Iberdrola’s pipeline of projects includes the 350 MW Wikinger offshore wind project
operational before 2022 and offshore wind projects in UK and Brazil.254 Iberdrola recently
became the first company to close a green financing deal in Latin America with the
launch of a US$400m five year bond in Mexico as it aims to build 11GW of renewables in
Mexico by 2022.255
246 https://www.enelgreenpower.com/about-us 247 https://www.enel.com/investors/strategy/2017-executive-summary 248 Enel Annual presentation FY2017 249 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/french-utility-edf-to-invest-8-billion-euros-in-power-storage-
by-2035/63491626 250 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-edf-solar/edf-announces-big-push-into-solar-sees-cost-at-25-billion-euros-
idUSKBN1E525Q 251 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/01/05/saudi-arabia-announces-shortlist-for-300-mw-tender-excludes-lowest-bid/ 252 https://www.engie.com/en/group/ 253 https://www.iberdrola.com/about-us/figures/operating-data#2 254 https://www.iberdrola.com/wcorp/gc/prod/en_US/conocenos/docs/Outlook_18_22_Q118.pdf 255 https://www.iberdrola.com/press-room/news/detail/iberdrola-closes-mexico-first-green-financing-deal-company-latin-
america
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 47
China Datang Corp, China
China Datang Corp consists of two main subsidiaries - Datang International Power
Generation Company, that owns 8.9 GW of hydro power assets and China Datang
Renewable Corp which owns 8.8 GW of wind and solar assets as of 2017 end. This Chinese
SOE installed a total of 3.3 GW of renewables capacity in 2017. China Datang Corp is
committed to implement China’s 15-year general plan to meet its incremental energy
demands through zero emissions energy sources. In December 2017, the installed
capacity of the Company’s wind farm in Saihanba reached 1.5 GW, making it the world’s
largest independent wind farm in service located at a single site.256
Brookfield Asset Management, Canada
Brookfield Renewable Partners, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Brookfield Asset
Management, owns 16.3 GW of renewable assets as of end 2017. Brookfield installed just
75 MW of new capacity, while progressing an additional 248 MW of construction and
advanced stage projects that are expected to enter commercial operations over the
next four years.257 This reflects a financial services bias to avoid construction risk where
possible. In contrast, Brookfield acquired 5 GW of new renewable assets in 2017. Hydro-
electricity represents 82% of Brookfield’s renewable capacity.
NextEra Energy, USA
NextEra, one of the largest and most successful power utilities in North America, is a leader
in renewable energy industry with a portfolio of 14.1 GW at the end of 2017. NextEra in
2017 implemented a record 1.6 GW of wind re-powering;258 a great example of how this
industry to progressively take advantage of technology improvements to reconfigure and
upscale end-of-life wind power projects.
Figure 7.2: Five Year Relative Performance: Nextera Energy vs Southern Co.
Source: Yahoo Finance
256 http://www.cdt-re.com/Article/UploadFiles/201804/2018042615261414.pdf 257 https://bep.brookfield.com/~/media/Files/B/Brookfield-BEP-IR/Annual%20Reports/2017-annual-report.pdf 258 https://reneweconomy.com.au/nextera-worlds-leading-renewables-installer-powers-90661/
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 48
Figure 7.2 above details the relative share price performance of NextEra Energy (up 97%,
blue) vs Southern Co. (down 6%, red) over the last five years. At the start of this period
Southern Co. was the top utility in America, while Nextera was #3 behind Duke Energy.
Southern Company has invested heavily in the Kemper clean coal (carbon capture and
storage) and Vogtle nuclear debacles while NextEra has focussed on building renewables
as fast as was commercially practical. To IEEFA, the relative returns to shareholders is a
telling and clear validation of the economic merits of avoiding stranded assets and
investing in industries of the future.
China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN), China
CGN New Energy Holdings Co Ltd is CGN’s global platform that develops and operates
power generation projects using non-nuclear clean and renewable energy. CGN has a
total installed renewable capacity of 13.3 GW as of December 2018. The nuclear giant is
one of the top wind power developers globally with total wind capacity of 9.1 GW.259
EDP (Energias de Portugal), Portugal
EDP ranks among Europe's major renewable electricity operators, as well as being one of
Portugal's largest business groups. EDP’s renewable portfolio stands at 11 GW as on FY2017
end.260 EDP is following a financial policy of using operating cashflow plus asset recycling
(selling down the equity holding in fully commissioned projects once construction risks
have been removed) to pursue a self-funded organic growth strategy. EDP’s 2016-2020
strategy aims to undertake US$5.5bn investment in new renewable projects.
As a consequence of financial distress following the global financial crisis of 2008, China
Three Gorges progressively acquired a 23% shareholding in EDP (with another Chinese firm
CNIC acquiring another 5% shareholding) and jointly funded a significant portion of EDP
Renewables development pipeline. This culminated in China Three Gorges making a full
takeover bid for EDP in May 2018, putting a enterprise value of €25bn of EDP (including
debt).261 To IEEFA this highlights the ongoing strategic profile of China’s “going global”
strategy to build up its global clean energy industry leadership.
Ørsted, Denmark
The Danish utility targets 96% of electricity generation from clean energy sources by
2023.262 Formerly known as DONG Energy, Ørsted holds a total of 8.9 GW of offshore wind
projects in Europe. In May 2017, the utility made a landmark bid for the He Dreiht offshore
wind farm in Denmark at a zero strike price, which means the company will offer
electricity entirely subsidy free, providing merchant electricity at wholesale power price
prevalent at the time of trade.263 In another landmark transaction, in April 2018 Ørsted was
awarded a 900 MW offshore wind farm contract in Taiwan. This will be Taiwan’s largest
offshore wind farm built in Changhua County and aims to be connected to the grid by
2021.264
259 http://en.cgnpc.com.cn/encgn/c100056/newenergy.shtml 260 https://www.edpr.com/en/key-data/operating-data 261 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-edp-m-a-china/china-three-gorges-launches-10-8-billion-bid-for-portuguese-power-
firm-edp-idUSKBN1IC2NC 262 https://orsted.com/en/Sustainability/Our-priorities/Transformation-in-figures 263 http://www.nera.com/content/dam/nera/publications/2017/PUB_Offshore_EMI_A4_0417.pdf 264 https://orsted.com/en/Company-Announcement-List/2018/04/1732224
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 49
8. Top Solar Module Manufacturers
This report focuses on the growing presence of gigawatt-scale solar in all its forms around
the globe over the last few years.
Chinese projects feature relatively infrequently in the IEEFA list of top projects globally,
mainly because it is difficult to track the multitude of solar projects in the country. But
there is no doubt that China is focused on dominating the low-emissions industries of the
future, both in terms of domestic deployment and increasingly in terms of international
mergers and acquisitions, with the goal of becoming a world leader in terms of capital
investments, employment, exports and technology development.265
One snapshot that highlights China’s absolute dominance is the list here of the largest
module suppliers (by shipment volume) for calendar year 2017; nine are Chinese-
controlled firms, with only South Korea’s Hanwha Q-CELLS offering any non-Chinese
competition.266
The top 10 module suppliers shipped 57 GW in 2017, just under 60% of global supply. This
includes production from China as well as company-run subsidiaries across Malaysia,
Thailand and Vietnam, with new Chinese-owned manufacturing proposals for India and
the U.S. under consideration in 2018. Firms that have dropped out of the Top 10 in recent
years include First Solar, Renesola, Sharp, and SunPower.
While the Japanese entered last decade along with the Germans as world leading
suppliers for solar cells and modules, the very long dated strategic intent of the Chinese
solar firms drives an ongoing pursuit of rapidly growing global market share driven by a
combination of ever-lower costs, ever-better technology and mind-blowing economies of
scale. February 2018 saw Longi Solar announcing a plan to triple solar mono wafer
capacity to 45 GW annually by 2020.267 While America and India both contemplate
import tariff barriers to Chinese solar modules due to this uncompetitive (or super-
competitive, long dated) behaviour, to IEEFA this shows a dangerously short sighted
approach in light of the enormous whole of society benefits of ever-lower solar electricity
generation costs. Renewable energy deflation is transforming world energy markets.
Figure 8.1: The Top Ten Solar Module Manufacturers Globally in 2017
Source: PV Tech & Solar Media Ltd
265 http://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-china-continues-position-global-clean-energy-dominance-2017/ 266 https://www.pv-tech.org/editors-blog/top-10-module-suppliers-in-2017 267 https://www.pv-magazine.com/2018/02/09/longi-to-triple-wafer-capacity-to-45-gw-by-2020/
2017
RankCompany
Manufacturing
Base
1 Jinko Solar China
2 Trina Solar China
3 Canadian Solar China
4 JA Solar China
5 Hanwha Q Cells South Korea
6 GCL-SI China
7 Longi China
8 Risen Energy China
9 Shunfeng China
10 Yingli China
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 50
Conclusion
The sheer size and number of solar power-based generation projects in operation and
under construction around the world is a clear indication that solar as a technology has
come of age. This report has examined key facets of the global expansion of solar
technology, with the widening of focus from traditional ground-mounted PVs to more
recent innovations including floating solar plants, concentrating solar thermal and hybrids
of wind-solar-batteries.
This spectrum of innovation will keep expanding with technologies such as bi-facial solar
installed with trackers being proposed for a number of projects globally. Solar with storage
and solar-wind hybrid generation could well be amongst the final pieces of the jigsaw
that make this energy source available across the daily demand curve whilst becoming
ever cheaper. In addition, we are witnessing innovation in financing, project
management and policy making, further facilitating the scaling-up of the clean energy
transition.
India, following in the footsteps of China with its National Solar Park Policy, has been
successfully building ultra-mega sized solar parks. Investors in advanced economies have
until recently been apprehensive of the bureaucratic and implementation challenges
that are common to developing economies. However, solar parks have been a highly
significant new model to rapidly attract foreign capital in Indian infrastructure projects.
On the corporate front, global tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple
have either installed their own renewable generation capacity or signed corporate PPAs
to satisfy their electricity requirements through clean energy sources. This is not only driven
by a commitment to reduce carbon emissions, but also represents a sound economic
and reputational risk decision.
In the Middle East, oil-rich economies like Saudi Arabia, Oman and UAE have seized on
the technology transition. Under-construction ultra-mega solar parks and concentrated
solar thermal projects have seen interest and investment from global utilities from China
and Europe as well as the Middle East itself. The latest US$200bn solar deal between Saudi
Arabia and Japanese tech-giant SoftBank is a key example of this clean energy
globalisation. Meanwhile, in Latin America, Mexico and Chile set a record for lowest solar
bids in 2017, close to US$20/MWh and attracting investments from global utility leaders
such as Enel of Italy.
The accelerated rate of solar deployment all around the world is due to technology
improvements, availability of cheaper financing and sensible policy support from
governments. While there has been an extraordinary build-up of momentum behind solar,
it is crucial to address the current challenges faced by the global solar industry.
Protectionist threats to this sector in countries like India and the U.S. could seriously
hamper the economic viability of solar energy and shrink its growing competitive
advantage over thermal power.
Solving this problem as soon as possible is key to allowing the continuation of the global
energy technology transition, locking in further, deflationary solar capacity and reducing
costs for consumers whilst improving access to electricity.
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 51
Appendix: Videoclips of Solar Following are the links to videoclips of some of the projects featured in this report.
1. Bhadla Industrial Solar Park, India
2. Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park, India
3. Banasura Sagar Reservoir Floating Solar Plant, India
4. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Dubai
5. Miraah Solar Thermal Plant, Oman
6. Huainan Panji Pingweizhen Floating PV Plant I, China
7. Apple park Solar Rooftop, USA
8. Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir Floating PV Plant, England
9. Noor-Ouarzazate Solar Power Plant, Morocco
10. El Romero Solar Plant, Chile
Solar is Driving a Global Shift in Electricity Markets 52
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) conducts research and
analyses on financial and economic issues related to energy and the environment. The
Institute’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a diverse, sustainable and profitable
energy economy and to reduce dependence on coal and other non-renewable energy
resources. More can be found at www.ieefa.org.
About the Authors
Tim Buckley Tim Buckley, IEEFA’s director of energy finance research, Australasia, has 25 years of
financial market experience covering the Australian, Asian and global equity markets
from both a buy and sell side perspective. Tim was a top-rated Equity Research Analyst
and has covered most sectors of the Australian economy. Tim was a Managing Director,
Head of Equity Research at Citigroup for many years, as well as co-Managing Director of
Arkx Investment Management P/L, a global listed clean energy investment company that
was jointly owned by management and Westpac Banking Group.
Kashish Shah Kashish Shah, a Research Associate at IEEFA, has a master’s degree in economics from
the University of Sydney and an engineering degree from NMIMS University in Mumbai.
Kashish has worked in the Global Analytics Division of the Royal Bank of Scotland with a
focus on regulatory policies. Kashish has research experiences in India’s public sector in his
work for a member of Indian Parliament and a University of Sydney-based research group.
Important Information This report is for information and educational purposes only. The Institute for Energy
Economics and Financial Analysis (“IEEFA”) does not provide tax, legal, investment or
accounting advice. This report is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for,
tax, legal, investment or accounting advice. Nothing in this report is intended as
investment advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as a
recommendation, endorsement, or sponsorship of any security, company, or fund. IEEFA is
not responsible for any investment decision made by you. You are responsible for your
own investment research and investment decisions. This report is not meant as a general
guide to investing, nor as a source of any specific investment recommendation. Unless
attributed to others, any opinions expressed are our current opinions only. Certain
information presented may have been provided by third parties. IEEFA believes that such
third-party information is reliable and has checked public records to verify it wherever
possible, but does not guarantee its accuracy, timeliness or completeness; and it is
subject to change without notice.
